From Yesterday
by M3535
Summary: Once there was a time when life wasn't so rough - for the Curtis boys, at least. We take a peek into the past of our favorite brothers, their parents, and (of course) their friends.
1. Can I Name Him?

**A/N:** Yet another collaboration between myself (m3535) and Zayhad. This time not a slash-fic. We will post every Thursday, as has always been our habit.

Zayhad will make an illustration for every chapter. To see it, go to **deviantart dot com** and look up **Zayhad**. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it. If you would like to leave a comment but don't have a deviantart account, you're welcome to write it in a review here. She will be most pleased.

We hope you'll enjoy, and we're looking forward to hearing from you - old and new readers alike.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Susan Hinton

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Can I Name Him?**

"Sodapop, get down from there!" cried a shocked Mrs. Matthews.

A small blond-haired boy of nearly three was standing on top of a bookcase, which he had obviously climbed, his face pressed against the window. He was stretched out just balancing on his toes on the top shelf.

Mrs. Matthews, who was looking after the two Curtis boys while Mr. Curtis picked up his wife and newborn son at the hospital, had only left Sodapop out of sight for half a minute. But as she should have known, having babysat for the Curtises before, that was more than enough time for the blond boy to get into trouble. She rushed over and caught him just before he lost balance and fell down. "What were you _doing_ up there?" she chided. "You can see out the window just by standing on your toes on the floor!"

"I wanna better view. I wanna see my new baby! When they coming, ms Mafews?"

Darry, who was sitting on the floor playing with a red toy car looked up at Mrs. Matthews and his younger brother. He hadn't been paying attention to Sodapop and although he loved his brother, the thought of getting one more wasn't very appealing. That meant more kids to share his toys with.

"Moooooom!" cried a child's voice from the kitchen and in walked a red-haired boy with chocolate and crumbs around his mouth. "I'm thirsty." He looked up at his mother, who was standing with Sodapop in her arms, and sent her a pair of pleading eyes.

"What have I told you about raiding other people's fridge?" scolded Mrs. Matthews. "Get into the bathroom so we can clean you up!"

Sodapop was squirming in her arms, trying to get free. He wanted to get back to the window to look for his new brother. The four-year-old Keith grudgingly followed them into the bathroom.

Darry turned his head to look after them but returned his gaze towards the door as he heard a car drive up to the curb outside. "Mom and Dad's home!" he yelled and heard his brother scream from the bathroom and only a few seconds later he came running through the living room.

Sodapop was first at the door, jumping up and down trying to reach the doorknob. "Darry - open! Open! Open!"

"They're gonna open the door in a minute," Darry sighed and got up from his spot on the floor.

Mrs. Matthews went over and picked Sodapop up again before opening the door. Keith and Darry stood behind her, craning their necks to see what was happening outside. Mr. Curtis got out of the car and waved at the people in the doorway before helping his wife out of the car.

"Look, look, LOOOK!" yelled Sodapop, fighting to get down, as he saw his mother coming up the garden path with a bundle of blankets in her arms.

"Sodapop!" scolded Mrs. Matthews and held onto him. "Wait till they're inside! And don't you jump your mother, you hear? Little babies are very fragile."

"I will _never_ hurt my baby!" said Sodapop, staring at the bundle in his mother's arms.

Mr. Curtis helped his wife up to the house, and then took Sodapop from Mrs. Matthews and give him a bear hug. "Hello, my big boys," he said and reached down to ruffle Darry's hair.

"Dad, lemme _down_!" cried Sodapop, who hadn't removed his eyes from the baby.

"Okay, but be calm, okay?" said Mr. Curtis and put him down.

Sodapop moved over in front of his mother and reached his arms in the air, expecting her to give him the baby.

She sent him a smile and shook her head. "You can sit beside him on the couch," she said, but seeing the inpatient look on Soda's face, she bent her knees and got down to his level with a bit of discomfort. "See? This is your baby brother," she smiled.

Darry walked over to his mother and looked at the baby. He didn't look so special, he thought, and couldn't see what all the fuzz was about.

Sodapop beamed and carefully pushed the sleeping baby's nose. "Wake up!" he said and pushed the nose again.

Mrs. Curtis laughed and looked up at her husband, who was smiling down at them.

"Let him sleep," Darry interrupted, taking a hold of Soda's arm. "Otherwise he'll just start screaming and won't stop until he gets our toys."

Sodapop shook Darry's hand off and returned his attention to the baby boy. Then he wrapped his arms around him and tried to pull him away from his mother.

"No, Sodapop, he's too fragile for that."

"But he _mine_!" said Sodapop, not understanding.

"He's your little brother, yes," said Mrs. Curtis, holding onto the baby. "And you will have to be a big boy and help Mama and Daddy take care of him, but you can't hold him just yet, okay?" She looked at Soda and tried to make him understand. "He's just a little baby. When we had you, Darry couldn't hold you right away, either."

"But..." started Sodapop.

"He ain't yours," said Darry irritably. "He's Mom and Dad's."

"But I asked them to buy me a little brother. And look - they did!"

Mrs. Curtis exchanged looks with her husband and decided that it might not be time just yet to tell Sodapop where babies came from. "Let's go inside and you boys can have some milk and cookies."

"I already had cookies," said Keith.

"I think you ate them all," said Sodapop, briefly looking away from the baby.

"Did not!" Keith said, frowning. "There was some on the top shelf I couldn't get to..."

"Why don't you kids get a cookie and run out and play while I change your baby brother?" Mrs. Curtis said.

But Sodapop had no intention of leaving the baby. He followed Mrs. Curtis to the bathroom to watch. When she placed the baby on the table it woke up and started crying.

"Mom - you made him cry!" said Sodapop accusingly. "Take him down - he don't like it up there!"

"He's just not happy about the blankets being taken off," she said and started to change him.

The small boy was still crying when she was done, and she wrapped him in the blanket again and took him up into her arms. She hushed and rocked him. Then she walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Everyone flocked around her to get a better look.

Sodapop sat down next to her and stared at the little boy. "Can I pet him?"

"Yes, gently."

Sodapop very carefully stroked the bald little head. "He got no hair."

"Neither did you when Mom and Dad brought you home," Darry said and leaned in to get a better look at the little baby in his mother's arms. He was awake now and blinked up at Sodapop and Darry.

"He looking at me!" squealed Soda.

Mrs. Curtis didn't have the heart to tell him that newborns couldn't focus yet.

"Hello. I'm Sodapop Curtis. I'm your big brother!"

The baby made a small sound and blinked again, making Soda lean in closer. Mrs. Curtis watched as her son was getting lost in studying the newborn and she leaned back on the couch. She was still a little tired even though she had spent a few days in the hospital.

"I want a baby too," Keith suddenly said and looked expectantly at his mother.

"Oh," said Mrs. Matthews, surprised. "Well... We can talk about that later."

"You should get one," said Sodapop. "They can play together then."

"We can play with him too," Keith said, watching the baby. "When he can walk and stuff. He ain't much fun now."

Darry just shook his head and sat down to play with some building blocks.

Sodapop sat, his eyes glued to the baby. Mr. Curtis didn't think he had ever seen his middle son so focused on one thing for so long.

"If you sit still, you can try and hold him," said Mrs. Curtis and carefully placed the baby on Soda's lap, so that its head was supported by her thigh.

Sodapop beamed as he wrapped an arm gently around his little brother. "It the happiest day in my life!"

Mrs. Curtis smiled and gently ruffled his hair while helping him support the baby with the other hand.

"What are you gonna call him?" Mrs. Matthews asked as she held on to her son so he didn't run off to raid the plate of cookies.

"Can I name him?" asked Sodapop, looking up at his father.

"Um," his father said and looked a little hesitant. "Well, do you have any suggestions?"

Sodapop looked at the baby, thinking long and hard. He wanted to give him a good name. He already loved his little brother so he thought of what else he loved. That was easy. "Pony... Ponyboy!"

Mr. and Mrs. Curtis looked at each other and then at the baby.

"Ponyboy Curtis... that's got a good ring to it," grinned Mr. Curtis.

"But Darrel…" Mrs. Curtis said, looking a bit skeptical.

"Why not? It's an original name, Ponyboy."

"That's not a name!" Darry broke in, feeling a little excluded from the whole thing. "You can't name a person Ponyboy!"

"It's no stranger than Sodapop," said Mr. Curtis.

"Well, that's a stupid name, too."

"Darry," his mother said in a warning tone.

"We can give him a common name also," said Mr. Curtis. "Like we did with Sodapop. Then he can chose to go by that name instead if he prefers that. What about Christopher? Or Thomas?" Darry just mumbled something and looked a little hurt from not having had a say. Mr. Curtis noticed and placed a hand on Darry's shoulder. "You don't like Christopher? What name would you like?"

Darry leaned against his father, still looking a little grumpy. "I like Michael better."

"Ponyboy Michael Curtis..." said Mr. Curtis and gently ran his fingers down the baby's cheek. "I think that's a perfect name."

 **o0o0o**

Sodapop adored his new little brother and spent nearly all his waking hours with him. Of course, as Darry pointed out, he wasn't much fun for the first few months, but Sodapop kept talking to him and showing him things, as if Ponyboy really understood. When Mrs. Curtis took Ponyboy for a stroll in the pram, Sodapop always joined - usually on his hobbyhorse, racing up and down the sidewalk, occasionally stopping to have a peek at the baby.

"Sodapop!" Mrs. Curtis called as her son raced too far ahead for her liking. "Come back here!" She sighed. It would be easier for him to run off steam when they got to the park.

When they reached the park, she sat down on a bench and watched Sodapop run around on the grass. A dark-haired boy with a toy truck spotted Sodapop and got up from his spot in the sandbox. "What are you playing?"

"I'm in a rodeo," explained Sodapop as if it were obvious. "What you doing?"

"Driving in the sand," the boy said and showed him his truck. "I'm Steve. Who are you?"

"Sodapop," grinned Soda.

"I ask your name," said Steve.

"It's Sodapop!"

The boy looked skeptical. "That's a strange name."

"I know!" beamed Soda. "But it's great, 'cause soda pop is my favorite food."

"Dad say pop ain't food," Steve said, looking determined. "He say I gotta drink water."

"He sound not very nice," said Sodapop, furrowing his brows.

Steve shook his head. "He ain't. My dad always grumpy."

Sodapop eyed the toy in Steve's hand. "If I can hold your truck you can pet Mr. Pony. But be careful, he bite sometimes."

Steve grinned and nodded before handing Sodapop his toy truck. Then he pet the horse's head, carefully as if afraid it might actually bite him.

"Wow," said Sodapop, admiring the blue truck. "My big brother too have trucks, he almost never let me play with them. He say I break them."

Steve looked a little worried all of a sudden. He hoped Sodapop wouldn't break his truck. "Where your brother now?"

"In school," said Sodapop. "He old."

A thin black-haired woman sat down on a bench close to Mrs. Curtis. Standing next to her was a tiny fragile looking boy with hair as black as hers. He was holding a shabby teddy bear with one of its eyes hanging by a thread. The boy looked up at the woman a little nervously and then wandered off slowly with the teddy bear pressed to his chest. The woman mumbled something with an irritable look on her face and lit herself a cigarette.

Sodapop spotted the new kid and forgot all about Steve and his truck. He dropped the toy on the grass and ran over to the other boy. "Hi," he grinned, stopping right in front of him.

Steve picked up his truck, checked it for damages, and followed Sodapop.

The small boy took a few steps back and clung to his teddy bear so hard that all the stuffing was squeezed into its head. "H-hi," he mumbled and looked up at the two with big black eyes.

"Your teddy look sick. You want my Mama to fix him? She a nurse," said Sodapop.

The boy looked down at his teddy bear and gulped. "Mama say... n-no money..." he nearly whispered.

"Oh, she don't want money!" grinned Sodapop and reached for the bear.

The little boy turned his back to Sodapop and clutched the bear even closer to his chest. "M… my teddy," he whimpered, his whole body shaking.

"Oh, you can hold him if you want," said Soda and instead took the boy's hand to lead him over to his mother.

"Hello there," smiled Mrs. Curtis.

The black-haired woman sent them an indifferent look and then returned to smoking her cigarette and ignoring her child.

"H… hi..." mumbled the boy, glancing at his mother out of the corner of his eye.

Sodapop opened his mouth to say something to his mother, but then realized that he didn't know what the dark boy's name was. "What your name?" he asked.

"J-Johnny," whispered the boy.

"Mom - Johnny's teddy is sick. I said you can fix him."

Mrs. Curtis leaned forward and smiled at Johnny. "Can I see him?"'

Johnny stood like frozen for a minute before reluctantly handing her the teddy bear. She studied it and then took out her bag to find a needle and some thread. "I will just put his eye back on and he should be as good as new," she smiled to the anxious looking boy.

The little boy looked very scared, Sodapop thought. Maybe it was because he was worried about his teddy bear. "Don't worry. She don't hurt him. She fix Mr. Pony all the time, and he fine," said Soda and stuck his hobbyhorse's head up in front of Johnny's face.

Johnny looked at it and gently let his thin fingers run over the fabric where Mrs. Curtis had stitched the horse up.

"Here you go," Mrs. Curtis said and handed Johnny his bear. Its eye was now stitched back on and Johnny stared at it with wide eyes as he took it. "T… thank," he whispered, looking up at Mrs. Curtis admiringly.

"You're welcome," she smiled and looked over at the woman who was clearly the boy's mother. Mrs. Curtis wondered why she hadn't repaired her son's teddy bear herself.

"You wanna come play?" Steve asked. "We can play in the sand box."

Johnny looked away shyly but followed the other boys to the sandbox. Mrs. Curtis leaned back on the bench and smiled at the three children running towards the sandbox with each of their toys.

Steve and Sodapop immediately hit it off. Johnny was very shy, hardly saying anything, but he looked like he enjoyed watching the other two.

"Where you live?" asked Sodapop. "Maybe we can play more. I live in Tulsa."

"We all live in Tulsa. It's too far to the park if you don't live in Tulsa," Steve explained.

Johnny looked like he was gathering courage to speak "Live in house..." he mumbled and cuddled his bear.

"Me too!" grinned Sodapop. "Right over there." He pointed in the direction of the Curtis house.

Johnny looked over his shoulder at his mother and when seeing that she wasn't looking at him he pointed in the same direction. "Live there..." he mumbled and quickly took his hand down again.

"I live on Greene Street," Steve informed and plowed his truck into the sand castle he had just made.

Mrs. Curtis called for Sodapop, telling him it was time to go.

"You can come visit me," said Soda to his new friends. "Ask your mama."

"I wanna," Steve beamed and finished destroying the sand castle. "You just wait - I come to your house and we play!"

"Where's your mama?" asked Sodapop and looked around.

"Over there," Steve said and pointed at a woman sitting on a bench, reading a book. "That's my Mama. She nice. Not like Dad… He always grumpy or at work. Mama take me here to play."

Johnny just stood there listening, seemingly overwhelmed by all the words that Steve and Sodapop knew.

"Ask her to take you to my house!" said Sodapop.

Mrs. Curtis had now come over to get Sodapop since he hadn't come when she had called.

Steve ran over to his mother and dragged her back to where Mrs. Curtis had now picked Sodapop up. "Mama, can I go with Sodapop and play?" he asked.

The woman looked puzzled. "Sodapop?" she asked a little confused but nodded hello to Mrs. Curtis.

"Well, not now, of course," said Mrs. Curtis. "Since it's nearly dinner time. But your son is very welcome some other day. We live 324 Walnut Street - over by the lot."

It took Mrs. Randle a few moments to grasp that Sodapop was the name of the boy in Mrs. Curtis' arms. "Well, I can bring him by tomorrow if that would be okay with you?" she said and Mrs. Curtis nodded.

Steve was jumping up and down with a huge grin on his face. Johnny on the other hand just stood looking at his feet.

"What about you, honey?" Mrs. Curtis asked him. "Do you want to come visit Sodapop too?" She knew where Johnny lived. Just about fifteen houses from theirs. The parents often fought so loudly it could be heard all the way to their house.

He looked up at her, hugging his bear tightly and seemed to be struggling with the words. "A… ask Mama…"

He spoke so quietly that Mrs. Curtis had to bend down to hear what he was saying. Then she let Sodapop go and pushed the pram over to where Johnny's mother was sitting. "Hi," she smiled. "I'm Maggie Curtis. We live on the same street."

The woman looked up at her with eyes that were puffy and narrow. She smelled of alcohol. "Is my kid causing trouble?" she asked in a harsh voice.

"No, of course not! He's a very sweet kid. I just wanted to ask if he can come to our house to play sometimes."

The woman looked at her like she was joking but when Mrs. Curtis didn't change her expression Mrs. Cade's face turned serious. "I ain't paying for food or nothin' while he's at your house and you come pick him up if you want him there," she said and pointed at her with her cigarette.

"Okay," said Mrs. Curtis, a little surprised, although she didn't have the best impression of Mrs. Cade as it was. Then she kneeled down in front of Johnny. "Johnny - Sodapop and I will come and get you tomorrow, alright?"

The little boy's face lit up.

 **o0o0o**

Sodapop excitedly raced up and down the sidewalk even faster than he had on the way out. Mrs. Curtis had to get strict with him to keep him from running too far. They found Mr. Curtis and Darry in the front yard setting up a swing in the old oak.

"Hello, you two," Mr. Curtis smiled and lifted Sodapop high into the air. "Have a good day? You didn't stress Mama out to much now, did you?"

"Huh?" said Sodapop, who had no idea what 'stress' meant. "I got new friends! They come tomorrow here!" he beamed and wrapped his arms around his father's neck.

"Oh? New friends? So we're gonna have the house full tomorrow?" He reminded Maggie that they had promised to look after Keith while Mrs. Matthews was at a job interview.

Ponyboy started crying in the pram and Sodapop immediately tried to climb it to see him.

"No, Soda, you're gonna knock it over!" Mr. Curtis said and pulled Sodapop off the pram while Mrs. Curtis picked up Ponyboy and gently rocked him in her arms.

"I think he's hungry and also needs a clean diaper," she said and went inside the house.

Mr. Curtis had to put Soda down because the minute Pony was out of sight he started to wiggle like a fish on a hook. Sodapop dashed past Mrs. Curtis into the kitchen. He pulled out the bottom drawers and used them to climb up onto the kitchen table - headed for the cookie jar. A few minutes later, Mrs. Curtis came out from the bathroom and sat down on the couch with the baby. Sodapop jumped up next to her and tried to jam a cookie into Ponyboy's mouth.

"No, no, no," she said and snatched the cookie from Soda's hand. "He can't eat that yet," she tried to explain and carefully parted Ponyboy's lips so Soda could see that he had no teeth. "See? He has no teeth so he can't chew his food yet. Mama will feed him, okay? You just run out and play with Dad and Darry."

Sodapop looked at his little brother for a long moment, feeling sorry for him that he couldn't eat cookies. "When can he eat cookies?"

"When he gets his teeth. And at first he will only be able to eat soft things," she explained. "But when he's ready to eat cookies I will make sure you get to give him one."

"Great!" grinned Soda and suddenly remembered the swing he had seen in the yard.

Darry was testing it when Sodapop emerged from the house. He got off the swing. "You want a go?" he asked and steadied the swing. "If I push you, you won't break it."

"How can I break it?" said Sodapop, already climbing the swing. "I'm so little."

"You tend to be wild," Darry said and started pushing Soda on the swing.

"Higher!" demanded Sodapop. "Higher, Darry! I wanna see over the house!"

Darry used all his strength but the swing didn't go much higher and before long he had tired himself out. "Dad, can't you push him?"

Mr. Curtis went over and took a hold of the swing, backing up and then letting it go. "Don't tell your mother that you went this high," Mr. Curtis demanded and laughed.

"Higher, Daddy!" squealed Sodapop euphorically. I can fly! All way up to the sky!"

A while later Mrs. Curtis called them in for dinner. Mr. Curtis had to wrench Sodapop off the swing to get him inside.

Mr. Curtis smiled and ruffled Darry's hair. "You're such good boys," he said and put a spoon of mashed potatoes in Soda's mouth.

"I can eat myself," said Sodapop, splattering mashed potato everywhere because his mouth was full of it.

"You're a pig," said Darry, but couldn't help sniggering.

Mr. Curtis just shook his head and wiped his mouth. Yes, they really were supposed to let Soda eat on his own, but it was tempting to just feed him, because when they didn't, they had to scrub down the walls afterwards.

Mrs. Curtis looked at both her sons. They were so different. Darry had always been calm, serious and tidy. Sodapop was wild, chaotic and bubbling with energy and joy. She had never met such a happy child. Even as a small baby he would laugh most of the time. She loved both of them and wondered how Ponyboy was going to turn out. In a way she hoped most like Darry. Sodapop was a wonderful boy but he was such a handful, she didn't know if she would be able to control two of his kind at same time.

After dinner the kids were placed on the floor with some toys while the parents cleared the table. "You can play for an hour and then it's off to bed so you're good and rested for tomorrow," Mr. Curtis said.

"I'm not tired," announced Sodapop and started building a tall tower of toy bricks.

"You're never tired," Darry mumbled, playing with his blue truck. It was his favorite toy in the world and no one else ever got to play with it.

A good hour later, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis walked up to them and picked up each of their kids. "Time for bed. Big day tomorrow."

"No! I'm not finish!" protested Sodapop and wriggled free. He then took a run-up and raced into his tower, bricks flying everywhere.

Mr. Curtis chased after him and finally caught him half way through the house. "Soda, you little trouble maker," he laughed. "You have to go to bed now." He looked at his son whose eyes were huge and clear. He was overtired.

"I'm not tired!" protested Sodapop while his father carried him into the bathroom to brush his teeth. That was always a big task, because Sodapop kept talking so foam flew everywhere.

"Try to be quiet for just one minute," sighed Mr. Curtis. "Otherwise we'll never be done!"

"What's a minute?"

"It's the time it takes normal people to brush their teeth," said Darry.

Finally after some struggling Mr. Curtis got Soda's teeth brushed and he changes him into his PJs. Darry was already lying in bed when Mr. Curtis came in with Soda hanging over one arm. He put the boy down in the crib. "Goodnight," said Mr. Curtis and kissed him on the forehead. "Now go to sleep okay?"

"I'm not tired. Read a story, Daddy. Please!"

"Alright," said Mr. Curtis.

"A good one," said Darry. "Not _Butter the Bulldog_ (which was Sodapop's favorite story and so Darry had heard it a hundred times).

"I love _Butter the Bulldog!_ " exclaimed Sodapop as if it were a secret nobody knew.

Mr. Curtis took down a big book from the shelf and sat down on a small chair. "This book has a lot of different stories so we will just pick a random one," he said and turned a page. He then started reading, changing his voice so it fit the characters in the story.

Sodapop wasn't any closer to sleeping when the story was over. He was excited about the next day and not at all in the mood for sleeping. He was standing in his crib, jumping up and down.

"Sodapop, it's time to lie down and go to sleep," Mr. Curtis repeated and lay him down, pulling the blanket over him. "Otherwise you will be too tired to play with your new friends tomorrow. Daddy also has to go to bed soon."

"You can go to bed," said Sodapop.

"Not before you're sleeping," he said and let his hand run over Soda's golden hair. He got up from the chair and turned off the lights. "Sweet dreams," he whispered and hoped that Soda would fall asleep soon enough.

Sodapop kept talking to Darry until Darry told him to shut the hell up.

"That's a bad word!" gasped Sodapop.

"I'm tired," Darry complained and turned his back to his brother, pulling the blanket up to his chin. "I wanna sleep and Dad said you should too."


	2. We Want Johnny

**Chapter 2 – We Want Johnny**

Sodapop woke at five in the morning. He climbed out of his crib and into his parents' bedroom. He crawled onto the bed and in between his parents where Ponyboy was lying. "Morning, Ponyboy," he said and kissed his nose.

Mrs. Curtis opened her eyes and looked at Sodapop. "Shush - don't wake Daddy, okay? He has to go to work in a few hours."

Ponyboy yawned and turned his head a little but kept his eyes closed.

"When can Ponyboy sleep in my room?" whispered Sodapop, squeezing himself in between his mother and brother.

"Oh, I dunno," his mother whispered. "In a year or so. We will give Darry his own room when Ponyboy is old enough to move in with you. How's that?"

"But then Darry will be all alone?"

"He'll be old enough to have his own room and he'll probably be very happy about it."

"But Mama - how long is a year?"

"Not so long," she smiled. "That's when it's cold, then warm and then cold again."

That was too complicated for Sodapop to understand, but he had a feeling it would be longer than 'not so long.' "He can come now. I'll be good to him."

"I know you will, honey, but Ponyboy needs to be with Mama until he's older. And I don't want him to wake you and Darry up every time he cries. Okay?"

"When is the other boys coming?"

"If you go to sleep I'll wake you up in a few hours and we'll go get Johnny."

"Sleep? But I already sleeped!"

"Ponyboy and Mama needs more sleep so maybe you can just lie here with us and sleep a little more."

Sodapop sighed and tried to lie still and sleep. He knew his father was tired if he didn't get enough sleep and his mother had told him how much sleep babies needed. It was very hard, though.

 **o0o0o**

"Wake up, sleepy head," said Mrs. Curtis and gently stroked Sodapop's hair.

Sodapop's eyes flew open. "Is it day now?"

"It is," she nodded. "We have to get you and Darry dressed and get you some breakfast before we go pick up Johnny."

Sodapop nearly fell out of bed and rushed into his room for his clothes. He wasn't very good at dressing himself yet, but he did the best he could until his mother came to help him out of the shirt he had gotten tangled up in.

"Are you boys exited?" asked Mrs. Curtis as she served breakfast to her boys.

Darry shrugged. He didn't know the two new boys so he didn't really know what to expect.

"Why can't we have frosty flakes?" asked Sodapop. He had tried them a few times at the Matthews' place and loved them, but his mother kept saying no when he asked about it.

"Because they're bad for you," sighed Mrs. Curtis. She didn't want him to have too much sugar. He was hyper enough as it was.

"You think Steve or Johnny have a baby, too?" Sodapop asked. "I forgot to show them mine at the park."

"You can ask them when they come over," said Mrs. Curtis and put the plates away. "Okay, put on your coats and I'll get Ponyboy."

Darry was given the task to keep Sodapop from running into the street or too far away. Soda thought that was annoying and repeatedly tried to escape him.

"You know Mom will get upset if you run too far away," Darry scolded when he had caught his brother for the tenth time. Darry wished they could just chain him to the pram.

They reached Johnny's house and Mrs. Curtis knocked on the door. When nobody answered, she knocked again. Still no answer. Sodapop was getting impatient and ran to the side of the porch where he could reach a window. Then he banged on it as hard as he could.

There was a sound of bottles falling to the floor and then footsteps moving towards the door. The door opened roughly and Mrs. Cade stood in the doorway with unruly hair and baggy eyes. "What?"

"We want Johnny!" cheered Sodapop.

The woman looked down at him with an irritated expression and Mrs. Curtis took a gentle hold on Soda, pulling him a little back. "We arranged a playdate yesterday," she said slowly.

"Oh. Right. I'll go get the brat," said Mrs. Cade.

"I don't like her," Darry mumbled.

A few minutes later she came back holding Johnny by the arm. He didn't have a coat on and was poorly dressed in baggy clothes and his hair was a mess. "Just bring him back when you don't wanna look at him no more," she said and slammed the door shut.

Johnny looked down at the ground and held his teddy bear close. "Are you cold?" asked Sodapop, noticing Johnny wasn't wearing a jacket, something his own mother would not let him go out without at this time of year. "You can have mine."

Johnny peaked up at Soda shyly and then back at his feet.

Mrs. Curtis studied the small boy. "It's not so far to our house," she smiled and reached down to gently take his hand.

Darry helped push the pram now that Mrs. Curtis only had one free hand. Sodapop skipped next to Johnny talking about what they were going to play and asking him a lot of questions. When Johnny didn't answer, Soda just moved on to the next topic.

"Here we are," said Mrs. Curtis, parking the pram outside the house and let go of Johnny's hand to pick up Ponyboy.

Johnny watched the baby with huge eyes. "You got... baby."

"Yes, we do," she smiled and bent down to let Johnny get a better look.

"That's my Ponyboy!" said Sodapop, beaming with pride. "Isn't he cute?"

"Cute," Johnny repeated and shivered.

Mrs. Curtis felt his cold cheeks. "Let's hurry inside, shall we?" Johnny stayed near the door when they had gone inside. "It's okay. You can come inside," she smiled.

"Come, Johnny," said Sodapop, taking Johnny's hand and dragging him into the living room. Soda wasn't a very patient child and Johnny was so _slow_.

Mrs. Curtis placed Ponyboy on his play-rug on the floor along with some of his toys. "Now remember, kids - be careful around the baby. Don't run into him or step on him."

Johnny looked like he was suddenly afraid of where to step and moved even slower.

Darry had sat down on the floor with his favorite truck. "Mom? When are the others coming?" he asked, looking up at her. It wasn't that he was really looking forward to it, he just needed to know how long he had his toys to himself.

"Not long," said Mrs. Curtis to Darry. Then she turned to Johnny. "Are you hungry, Johnny?" She realized that the boy probably hadn't had any breakfast, because from the looks of it, Mrs. Cade had just been woken from a drunken sleep.

Johnny looked up at her and nodded slowly.

Mrs. Curtis asked Sodapop to look after Ponyboy, so Johnny could get a chance to eat in peace. Then she went to the kitchen and gently picked Johnny up and placed him on Soda's high chair. She poured milk on a bowl of cereal and asked, "Would you like some sugar on that, honey?" She had an idea that Johnny didn't get too many calories - he looked too small and thin for a two-year-old.

Johnny sat for a moment, trying to understand what she was asking him and when she showed him the sugar, a smile appeared on his face.

Mrs. Curtis gave him a generous dose of sugar (something that would have had Sodapop dying with envy). "Do you need help eating?" she asked and offered him a spoon.

Johnny looked at the spoon and carefully took it. His hand was shaking when he placed it in the cereal and he leaned his head all the way in over the bowl before raising the spoon towards his mouth. His hand was shaking so much that half of the food fell off.

Mrs. Curtis looked at him, furrowing her eyebrows. Was the boy that scared of her, or could it be that he was afraid to make a mess because he was used to being punished for it? She sat down next to him, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "You don't need to be scared of making a mess," she smiled. "I will just clean it up. I always have to do that with Sodapop, anyways. He's very messy."

There was a knock on the front door and Sodapop raced to the door and jumped up and down, desperately trying to reach the handle. Mrs. Curtis. dreaded the day (that had to come soon) when he was tall enough to reach. They would have to lock the front door all the time.

"Sodapop - relax," she said as she opened. "Oh, hello, Mrs. Randle. Come in. So nice you could come. Sodapop has been so excited!"

"So nice of you to invite us," she replied.

Steve stood beside her, holding a toy car. "Hi," he beamed and followed Sodapop into the living room.

"You have to see my Darry's truck!" Soda said excitedly.

Darry quickly pulled his truck close to his chest when he saw the two boys. "You can't play with it!"

When Steve pulled out his own car, Darry's expression softened. "We can play race," Steve suggested and sat down on the floor.

Mrs. Curtis went back into the kitchen and was pleased to find that Johnny had eaten up. "You've cleaned your bowl - That's a good boy!"

Johnny looked up at Mrs. Curtis and smiled shyly. He didn't think he had ever heard anyone call him a good boy before.

"Come on, let's help you down," she said and gently lifted him up from the high chair and put him down on the floor. "Come - let's go see what the other boys are doing."

Johnny reached up and took her hand nervously. He had heard Steve and Mrs. Randle arrive and even though he had met all of them yesterday, he was still a little afraid.

No one noticed Johnny when he came into the living room. They were too busy racing their cars. Johnny kept holding on to Mrs. Curtis' hand as if it were some anchor of safety. She went over to Ponyboy, who was lying alone on the carpet. "Go on," she said to Johnny, letting go of his hand. "Try and see if you can get Ponyboy to play with some toys."

Johnny looked after her feeling a little helpless before sitting down on the play-rug with his teddy bear. He took one of Ponyboy's toys and waved it in front of him. The baby reached up his hands and grinned, trying to grab the toy.

"Good that you picked up the little boy there as well," Mrs. Randle said and took a sip of her coffee. "I don't think he gets out much." She watched as her son crashed his car into a table leg and the three boys laughed.

"Yes... He has horrible parents, I'm afraid," sighed Mrs. Curtis. "His mother looked like she had been drinking all night, and Johnny hadn't had any breakfast. I just fed him."

Mrs. Randle sighed. "I think both his parents are drunks. You can see his father all the time downtown stumbling out of the local bar... drinking up his paycheck instead of buying food and diapers for his son. And the mother doesn't look much better."

A good ten minutes later, Mrs. Matthews dropped Keith off. He hurried over and dropped down by the boys playing with cars on the floor. He looked at Steve. "A new kid. More people to play with. More toys."

Darry quickly took his truck back into possession.

"You bring any?" asked Sodapop, looking expectantly at Keith. Soda himself had found a small wooden horse his father had gotten him for Christmas, and used it to race with the cars. Soda used to have his own toy car, but he had broken it by throwing it into the air to see if it would land on all four wheels, so now he had to make do with the horse.

Keith pulled out a fire truck from behind his back and the three boys studied it with huge eyes.

"Wow! That's a nice truck!" said Steve. "Is it new? It looks new."

"I dunno. I found it," Keith shrugged.

"Wow," said Sodapop and pet the fire truck as if it were alive. "It's big!"

Ponyboy grinned up at Johnny's face, more interested in him than the toy. Johnny smiled but was a little startled when the baby grabbed a hold of his finger. Ponyboy stuck it in his mouth, all the while staring at Johnny's face.

Johnny tried to pull his hand back but Ponyboy was a lot stronger than he looked. "He eat me," Johnny whimpered and looked nervously up at Mrs. Curtis who was sitting at the coffee table close by.

"No, no, don't worry - he hasn't got any teeth yet. He just wants to suck on it. Babies like to suck on everything," she explained.

Johnny still looked a little worried as he returned his gaze to Ponyboy.

Steve and Keith hit it off immediately as they raced their cars around on the floor, Soda's wooden horse miraculously being faster than the cars. Darry had to admit that he was actually having fun with them and he even let the others borrow his truck. Even Soda got to touch it.

A little later, Sodapop remembered that Johnny was there and he went over to Ponyboy's play-rug where Johnny was sitting. He sat down next to him and smiled, looking at first Ponyboy, then Johnny. "You like him?"

Johnny nodded. Pony made some happy-noises and stretched his arms up towards his brother with a huge grin on his face. Soda grinned back at him and wrapped his arms around him, lifting him up in a sitting position.

"Sodapop!" said Mrs. Curtis, ready to get up. "Careful! Remember to support his head!"

"Yes, Mama," said Soda, holding a hand behind his little brother's head.

Johnny crawled a little closer to Soda so Pony could look at them both without having to turn his head.

Ponyboy reached out to touch Johnny's face and when his small fingers found his nose, clutched it, and pulled.

Johnny pulled his head back, making Pony let go, and he carefully rubbed his nose while looking a little hurt. The baby just looked back at him with open mouth and a smile on his lips.

Sodapop laughed. "He just want to play," he explained.

Then Ponyboy spotted Johnny's teddy bear and reached for it, whimpering when he couldn't quite reach it.

Johnny held on to his teddy bear, not really wanting to let anyone hold it, but seeing Pony insist, Johnny finally gave in and held out the bear to him. Ponyboy grabbed it and pulled it in, clutching it to his chest and laughing.

"He like it!" beamed Sodapop.

"Oh, that's such a sweet baby you have, said Mrs. Randle to Mrs. Curtis. Is he a handful? Steve was pretty difficult - crying a lot. Every time there was something he was unhappy about."

"No, Ponyboy is such an easy baby. He almost never cries," Mrs. Curtis said proudly. "None of my kids do. However, Sodapop is quite a handful. He's enough for all three of them."

"Oh? He looks very sweet."

"Oh, he's a sweetheart, but he's also hyperactive and I have to keep an eye on him at all times so he doesn't get into trouble."

Ponyboy looked at the teddy bear again and then latched onto its nose and started sucking on it.

Johnny reached out for the bear nervously, afraid that Pony might bite its nose off.

"No, Pony - not eat it!" said Sodapop and tried to wrench the bear away from Ponyboy. Ponyboy just bit down harder.

Johnny's bottom lip started trembling and he started sobbing.

"No worry," said Sodapop. "If he break, Mama just gonna fix him. Like at the park."

Mrs. Curtis heard the small boy sob and she got up from her chair and went over to pick up a teething ring and gave that to Pony instead, making him let go of the bear. "Here you go, sweetie," she said and handed Johnny the bear.

Johnny hugged his bear as he looked at Sodapop, a small sob escaping him again. "Mine..." he mumbled.

"Of course," smiled Sodapop. "What's his name?"

"T-teddy."

"That's a good name," said Sodapop. Then he suddenly remembered the swing. "We have a new swing in the yard! Come!" He ran to the door, again jumping up and down to reach the doorknob. "Mama! Wanna go out!"

The other boys followed Sodapop into the yard. Steve and Soda started fighting over the swing and Darry ended up telling them off. "If you can't agree, then I get to try first!"

"What about me?" Keith asked.

"I'm going first, because I'm oldest," Darry said and hopped onto the swing, kicking off with his legs to gain some speed.

The other boys stood and looked at Darry for a moment. "Is not fair," said Sodapop.

"No," said Keith. "We should get him off."

The two parents had sat down on some chairs with Ponyboy and Johnny and didn't notice the three boys plotting to get the swing away from Darry. Darry hadn't noticed either before Steve and Sodapop started pulling at his legs and Keith shook the swing. "Moooom!" cried Darry as he landed hard on the ground and the three other boys tried to climb the swing simultaneously, although there was not even space enough for two.

Mrs. Curtis got up. "What's happening here?" she asked, seeing Darry on the ground and the younger boys fighting over the swing. She sighed and thought that she best ask her husband to put up one more swing so there wouldn't always be fighting. "You take turns, okay? That's what good boys do when they have to share a thing. You get five minutes each. Why don't you go first, Steve? And then Keith. Guests should always be offered first," she told her sons.

After Steve's and Keith's turns, Mrs. Curtis lifted Johnny onto the swing. She told him to hold on tight and started to push him very carefully.

"Mama, I wanna push Johnny!" said Soda, tugging at her sleeve.

"Okay, but no harder than this," she said, although she didn't need to say that - there was no way little Sodapop could push any harder.

When Sodapop ran out of strength he got in front of Johnny, who was still sitting on the swing. "Wasn't it fun?" he beamed.

Johnny nodded and smiled shyly at Sodapop. He then jumped down from the swing, almost falling over when he landed. Mrs. Curtis could see that he wasn't so steady on his legs yet. He had probably had to teach himself how to walk.

Sodapop helped him up and took his hand, walking over to sit down on the steps to the house. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Two," Johnny answered. Soda was still holding his hand and Johnny held onto it tightly.

Sodapop smiled and studied Johnny's face. It looked different from the other kids he knew. Darker skin and black eyes. "You have very black hair," he smiled and stroked it with his free hand.

Johnny flinched under his touch but when Soda touched his hair again, he seemed to like it. "You yello air..." he said softly, looking at Soda.

"Yeah," grinned Soda. "Like Mama. Darry look like Daddy. I don't know with Ponyboy. He have no hair yet. He all bald. Like an old man!" he laughed.

Johnny grinned and sent a glance in the direction of Mrs. Curtis. "You nice Mama," he said. He liked being at the Curtis house and didn't want to go back home.

"Yes," Soda agreed. "You can borrow her sometimes." Soda didn't think Johnny's mom looked nice at all. Not like Mrs. Curtis, and he could understand if Johnny liked her better.

"Alright kids... time to go inside," said Mrs. Curtis and got up from her chair. Dark clouds had drifted in and it looked like rain.

Johnny was still there when the Randles had left and Keith had been picked up. Johnny's mother had said to deliver him back when they got tired of him. Obviously, she wasn't missing him. Mrs. Curtis decided to give Johnny an early supper before she took him back so she was sure that he was well fed for the day.

Johnny clung to her as they approached his house and he started shaking when they stepped up to the door. Gently she pushed his hair back and smiled at him. "I'll come by again some other day," she promised and it seemed to relax the small boy a bit. Then she knocked on the door. Nobody answered although she knocked several more times. She sighed and found a piece of paper in her purse. She wrote a note to hang on the door, saying that she had taken Johnny home again and they could pick him up there when they got home. "They're not home, Johnny, so you come home with me for a little longer, okay?"

Johnny looked happy and took her hand as they walked down the steps again and back to the Curtis house.

 **o0o0o**

At 10 pm Johnny's parents still hadn't picked him up. The small child had fallen asleep on the couch with his teddy bear and Mrs. Curtis had put a blanket over him.

"I don't understand why they haven't come home yet," she sighed.

"They're probably out on a bender," said Mr. Curtis and poured himself another cup of coffee. "You can't help wondering what they normally do with him when they're both out."

"You don't think... You think they would actually leave a two-year-old home alone?"

"I don't know," sighed Mr. Curtis and took a sip of his coffee. "But I think they might."

In the middle of the night Johnny woke up. Not knowing where he was and the house being dark and quiet, he hugged his bear and started crying.

Mrs. Curtis woke up and hurried into the living room where she turned on a small light and sat down on the couch, pulling Johnny into her lap. "Hush, baby. It's okay. You're here at Sodapop's house, remember?"

Johnny cuddled in against her. "S… scared," he whimpered and hid his face in her robe.

"It's okay. I'm sure your mama will pick you up tomorrow. And you'll be safe here until then."

Johnny didn't want his mother to pick him up. He didn't miss her at all. He just didn't know how to tell Mrs. Curtis that.

Sodapop, who had also been woken up by Johnny's crying, came into the living room. "Johnny's still here?"

"Yes, he is. He just got a little scared waking up in here alone."

"He can sleep in our room!" said Soda excitedly. "My new bed is big!"

When Mrs. Curtis asked Johnny if he wanted to go sleep in Soda's room, he nodded shyly. She gently picked him up, placing him on her hip and they walked into the room. Darry was sound asleep and didn't wake up when they entered. "Into bed with you," she whispered to Soda.

Sodapop was so excited he probably wouldn't go to sleep anytime soon, but he would do his best not to disturb Johnny too much.

Mrs. Curtis found an extra pillow for Johnny and tucked him in next to Soda. "Goodnight, boys. Sleep tight."

Then she turned off the light and left, leaving the door ajar. There was a stripe of light from the streetlamp seeping in through the curtain, so Soda could just make out Johnny's face and big eyes. "Don't be scared," he said and wrapped an arm around him.

Johnny looked back at the blond boy. It felt much nicer lying next to him than on the couch. He sent Soda a smile and cuddled in against him, closing his eyes. The mattress was soft and the bed nice and warm, it was impossible to stay awake.

Soda hugged him back. It was almost like he had gotten one more little brother. Not that Johnny was a lot younger than him, but still. And he couldn't wait for Ponyboy to be allowed to move into his room as well.

 **o0o0o**

Mrs. Curtis came in the next morning, waking the three of them. She was surprised that Soda had actually slept that long and she smiled when she saw the two of them hugging in their sleep. "How about some breakfast," she offered.

"Yay!" whooped Sodapop and jumped out of bed the minute he woke.

Darry grumbled something and turned to face the wall, pulling the covers up over his head.

Before they could finish breakfast there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Curtis opened it to see a clearly hung-over Mrs. Cade standing outside. "Where's my boy?" she said accusingly. "I told ya to bring him back so I didn't have to bother come get him!"

"I did bring him by yesterday," said Mrs. Curtis. "But you weren't home so I left a note."

Johnny sat on his chair, looking in the direction of the door with huge eyes.

"Well, you can't expect someone to be home every minute of the day, just waiting on someone to come by!"

"Of course not, Mrs. Cade," said Mrs. Curtis, not wanting any trouble. "I just thought that it would be okay to leave a note so you knew that he was still here and you could come by when you were back."

"Well - hand him over, then!" she snapped.

Mrs. Curtis was bubbling inside with anger, but she controlled herself because she didn't want to spoil Johnny's chances of being allowed to visit them again, so she just took Johnny's hand and guided him to the door. Johnny walked with trembling steps, his bear in one hand as he unwillingly let go of Mrs. Curtis' hand and took his mothers. Not that she seemed to be wanting to hold his hand. He gulped once and dropped his head. He knew better than to look at his mother when she was in a dangerous mood.

Sodapop stood next to his mother, a hand clutching her skirt. "Ain't ya gonna kiss Johnny?" he asked Mrs. Cade. His own mother would always give _him_ a kiss when they had been apart.

Mrs. Cade just sent him a glare and yanked Johnny with her out the door and towards the gate leading into the street. Johnny stumbled with her and turned his head to look at the two in the doorway, his eyes big and nervous.

Mrs. Curtis sighed and pet her son's head before going back inside, closing the door behind them.

"She not nice to Johnny," said Soda, looking very serious.

"I'm afraid not," Mrs. Curtis sighed. She felt so sorry for Johnny. She wished she could help him somehow. "That's why we gotta be extra nice to him so he knows that someone cares about him."

"I'm extra nice to him, right?" asked Soda, a bit uncertain.

"You are very nice to him, honey" she smiled.

* * *

 **A/N:** To see Zayhad's illustration to the chapter go to deviantart dot com and look up Zayhad. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it.


	3. You Can Hide With Me

**A/N: Thank you all for the positive reception. We hope you will like the rest of the fic :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – You Can Hide With Me**

A few days later there was suddenly a knock on the door. Mrs. Curtis was baffled to find Mrs. Cade standing outside. She looked more sober than last she had seen her.

"Um..." Mrs. Cade started. "I have somewhere to go the next couple of days and the boy would really be in the way. And since you seemed to like him so much I thought -"

"Yes - yes of course! We'll look after him," said Mrs. Curtis, not even letting Mrs. Cade finish.

"Oh. Good," said Mrs. Cade and gave Johnny a rough push towards Mrs. Curtis. Johnny nearly fell, but was caught by Mrs. Curtis. "Well, I'll see you in a couple of days." Then she turned around and left, not even giving Mrs. Curtis a change of clothes for Johnny.

Johnny's stood with his head bent. He was holding something in his hands that looked like old rags and he sniveled when Mrs. Curtis sat down on her knees in front of him. "I'm so glad you could come to stay with us," she said and gently pushed his hair back. Johnny flinched when she touched him. Then she saw the rags he was holding.

The little boy squeezed them closer to his chest. "T-Teddy," he sobbed.

"Oh no, Johnny!" she gasped and carefully pried his hands open to take the rags that used to be his teddy bear. It looked like a dog had mauled it. "What _happened_?"

Tears ran down Johnny's face as he finally dared to let the pain show. "M... Mama mad..." he sobbed and started trembling. "She kill Teddy."

"Oh, my God!" gasped Mrs. Curtis. She couldn't fathom how a mother could be so evil. To destroy what was probably a little boy's only source of comfort. She looked at the rags again. It seemed that all the parts were there. "I don't think he's dead, Johnny. I think he's just hurt real bad. Maybe I can save him, okay? You go play with Sodapop and I'll see what I can do."

Sodapop was in the next room playing with Ponyboy and hadn't heard the knock on the door. He looked up and grinned when he saw Johnny. "Johnny! You come back!" He got up and gave Johnny a hug.

Johnny hugged Soda back, still weeping. "Teddy sick," he sobbed as Soda let him go. "You Mama help him."

"Don't cry. Mama can fix anything. Come see what Pony can do!" said Soda, determined to cheer Johnny up.

They sat down and Sodapop showed how he could make the baby pull at the toys he dangled in front of him. Sodapop smiled proudly and made the toy bounce. Johnny couldn't help smiling when watching the baby laugh and try to catch the toy.

 **o0o0o**

Mr. Curtis walked through the door a little later with Darry and found his wife sitting at the table with needle and thread. "Hello dear," he said and kissed her cheek. "What's that?"

"This is what was once Johnny's beloved teddy bear," she said, hiding her anger. She didn't want Darry to hear the bad words she wanted to say. "Hi, honey," she said and gave her oldest son a kiss. "I made cookies. Why don't you go to the kitchen and help yourself to a couple?" Darry happily scurried off to the kitchen and Mrs. Curtis told her husband what had happened. "I'm so angry! I don't understand how someone can be so cruel to a little child! And her own son!"

Mr. Curtis eyed the rags on the table. "Can you fix it?"

She sighed. "I think so. Well, it won't look as good as it did, but at least it will be recognizable. I need to get some new stuffing. Most of it has fallen out. Can you watch the kids while I go to the store?"

"Of course, honey. You just go. I'll take them to the yard and play with them."

Mrs. Curtis left and Mr. Curtis went to the living room where Johnny and Sodapop was still playing with Ponyboy. He put Ponyboy down for his afternoon nap and took the three boys outside. "How about a game of hide and seek? You guys hide and I'll go first."

Johnny looked confused when the two other boys eagerly ran off before Mr. Curtis had even turned around to start counting. Mr. Curtis called the boys back and kneeled down in front of Johnny. "When I turn around and start counting you run off and hide somewhere in the yard and I will come and find you," he explained. Understand?"

Johnny nodded slowly although he didn't completely understand.

"You can hide with me," said Sodapop, seeing how confused Johnny looked.

Johnny followed Soda behind a tree and they sat down in some tall grass. Johnny covered his mouth, afraid that Mr. Curtis would be able to hear him breathe and that would give away their hiding spot.

Mr. Curtis spotted the two small boys right away but decided to find Darry first so Johnny could get the experience of winning. Once he had found Darry, he kept roaming the yard talking loudly to himself. "I wonder where Soda and Johnny are. I can't find them! Maybe they have run away!"

Sodapop sniggered loudly, pressing his face against his palms trying unsuccessfully to hide it. Johnny hid his face against Soda's shoulder, excited that Mr. Curtis couldn't find them. Was their hiding spot really that good?

Mr. Curtis finally 'found' the boys. He held a hand to his head and looked relieved. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought I had lost you for good!"

Soda rolled around on the grass, laughing. He usually wasn't very good at this game because it required that you could sit still and be quiet.

Johnny just sat on the ground and smiled up at Mr. Curtis. "We hide good," he beamed.

Mrs. Curtis came back and spotted the four in the yard. She couldn't help but smile when seeing how good a time they were having. She walked up to her husband. "Honey, if I start dinner, will you keep an eye on it while I get back to fixing the teddy? I found stuffing and even a piece of fabric that looks a lot like the original to patch up the parts that are too damaged," she smiled.

He gave her a kiss. "Of course I will."

The boys went inside with the grownups and sat down on the floor to play with some of Soda's and Darry's toys. Johnny looked at the toys but didn't touch them. He remembered his mutilated bear and didn't feel like playing with anything else right now.

After dinner, Mrs. Curtis went straight back to working on the teddy bear. She wanted to finish it before the boys had to go to bed.

At eight O'clock, Mr. Curtis helped Sodapop and Johnny brush their teeth (Mrs. Curtis had bought Johnny a toothbrush at the store) and put them to bed. He was just about to start reading a story when Mrs. Curtis came in with Johnny's bear. She was very pleased with the result. "Here, Johnny - almost as good as new."

Johnny eyed the bear in shock and with shaking hands he took it and examined it. It looked almost like it did before and as tears began to roll down his face he hugged the bear tightly. "Teddy," he sobbed and Mrs. Curtis gently pushed back his hair, feeling her eyes tear up as well.

"He's a tough little guy," Mr. Curtis praised the stuffed animal and caressed Johnny's cheek.

"See?" grinned Soda. "I _told_ you Mama can fix everything!"

Johnny smiled and reached up his arms to get a hug from Mrs. Curtis. "T-thank help Teddy," Johnny sniveled and hugged her as tightly as he could.

"Of course. I was happy to help Teddy. I know how much he means to you," she smiled. "Now - you boys go to sleep. It's very late and you must be exhausted." She gave all three boys a kiss goodnight before turning off the light.

Johnny cuddled next to Soda with his bear and couldn't help but smile widely. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this happy, if he in fact had ever been this happy.

 **o0o0o**

Next morning Mrs. Curtis woke up before Sodapop, for once, and started making breakfast, thinking she wanted to spoil the kids a little.

In the room, Sodapop's eyes flew open and he shook Johnny. "Johnny - wake! Mama's making pancakes! I smell it!"

Johnny rubbed his eyes and blinked a couple of times, looking confused. For a few seconds he wasn't sure where he was but when he finally focused he saw that it was Sodapop. He sat up with messy hair and yawned. "What fancakes?"

"What?" gasped Sodapop, eyes going wide. "You don't know what pancakes is? Just wait! They's the best food in the world!" He jumped out of bed, pulling Johnny with him into the kitchen.

Mrs. Curtis smiled at the two boys. "Good morning, sleepy heads. Did you sleep well?"

Johnny nodded and rubbed his eye, holding his teddy in the other hand.

Sodapop stood on his toes and reached up toward the frying pan. Mrs. Curtis just managed to catch his hand in time. "Sodapop! How many times do I have to tell you the stove is dangerous? It's very hot!"

"Just want to see the pancakes," Soda tried to explain.

She bent down and lifted him up onto her hip and let him get a good look.

Johnny went over and looked up at Mrs. Curtis with big curious eyes. She put Sodapop down and lifted Johnny up instead so he could have a look as well. "Look funny," Johnny said as he studied the dough sizzling on the pan.

"Well, they taste real good," smiled Mrs. Curtis.

"We must save some for Darry after school or he'll be upset," said Sodapop. "And Daddy. He like them too."

"I made plenty so don't you worry, honey," she said. With Johnny still on her hip, she walked over to the table and put him in Soda's high chair. Sodapop was getting big enough for a normal chair with an extra cushion on it. Mrs. Curtis put a pancake on Johnny's plate and cut it into pieces. "Would you like syrup on?" she asked.

Sodapop was already helping himself to syrup. In fact, he had just drowned his pancake. Mrs. Curtis took the bottle away from him before the syrup would overflow the plate and she put a bit on Johnny's pancakes. She then stuck the fork in a piece and fed it to him. Soda had started eating his, not waiting for his mother to cut it.

"You know that you shouldn't use so much," she told Soda after feeding Johnny another piece.

"Is good," grinned Soda, syrup smeared all over his face, some even in his hair.

Mrs. Curtis shook her head and thought she would need to give Sodapop a bath after breakfast. "How is it, honey? Good?" she asked Johnny.

Johnny nodded and opened his mouth to get another piece. Mrs. Curtis hoped they would get to keep Johnny for more than a few days. It was nice to see him happy.

Sodapop poured more syrup on his pancake when his mother wasn't looking and took a spoon, starting to scoop it into his mouth. He _loved_ syrup. Everything sweet, in fact, and he was rarely allowed to eat much of it, so when he got the chance, he made the best of it.

Mrs. Curtis spotted the bottle standing next to Soda again and she took it away. "I think that's enough syrup for you," she said in a half-strict voice. "And you need a bath after this, young man."

Sodapop laughed. He liked baths too.

Mrs. Curtis looked at Johnny, thinking that he probably needed a bath as well. She didn't think the Cades cared more about his personal hygiene than anything else about him. She would also need to find him some of the clothes Sodapop had growing out of.

When they were finished eating, Mrs. Curtis took the boys into the bathroom and ordered them into the tub. It was plenty big for two.

"I want Robby Ducky!" said Sodapop and reached up his hands.

Mrs. Curtis picked up a yellow rubber duck from a basket and handed it to him. Johnny just sat in the water and watched as Soda played with the duck. Mrs. Curtis took some shampoo and started to rub it into Soda's hair as she was humming a tune.

"Look," said Soda and held the duck under water, all the way to the bottom, and then let go. The duck soared upwards and jumped up from the water like a dolphin, splashing water everywhere.

Johnny laughed as drops of water hit his face and Mrs. Curtis turned her head a little as water splashed up on her as well. She handed Soda a cloth to cover his eyes with and asked him to tilt his head back so she could wash out the soap from his hair.

At the end of the bath there was more water on the floor than in the tub. Mrs. Curtis was glad that Johnny was such a quiet boy so she could deal with Sodapop while he waited nicely for his turn. She pulled Sodapop out of the bath and wrapped a towel around him, ruffling his hair with the big towel. "Stay put," she told him and then pulled Johnny out as well, giving him the same treatment.

Both boys nice and dry, she took them to the small bedroom and found them some clothes. She found some of Soda's old ones and dressed Johnny in those. "There we go... nice and clean." She knew, of course, that she would probably have to bathe Soda again before bedtime, knowing he would go outside and roll around in the dirt.

The boys played in the yard while Mrs. Curtis sat with Ponyboy. Sodapop let Johnny borrow his hobbyhorse and Johnny let Soda hold his teddy. As the afternoon progressed, Johnny got more and more comfortable and there was a smile on his lips almost all the time. Mrs. Curtis just sat and watched the boys play and forgot to put them down for an afternoon nap.

"Come on. Let's play on the swing!" said Sodapop. He was still high on sugar and wouldn't have been able to nap for the world. He let Johnny try the swing first and pushed as hard as he could. "Can you see over the house?" he yelled.

Mrs. Curtis laughed to herself. The swing couldn't go anywhere near that high, even if Sodapop had been ten times as strong.

"No," Johnny called back and giggled as the swing went a little higher. He helped pick up speed by kicking the ground with his short legs.

After a little while, Sodapop got tired of pushing the swing. "When Daddy come home he can push us. He's the strongest man in the world. And Darry is number two."

* * *

 **A/N:** To see Zayhad's illustration to the chapter go to deviantart dot com and look up Zayhad. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it.


	4. I'll be back soon

**Chapter 4 – I'll be back soon**

Two years had passed and it was time for Sodapop to start school.

"Sit still," Mrs. Curtis said as she combed his hair.

Darry rolled his eyes and ate his cereal while watching his mother struggle with his brother.

"You gotta look nice for your first day, honey."

"Why? I'm gonna to get messy again on the playground." Sodapop was very excited about starting school. It was a whole new adventure. There were going to be new children to get to know, and different kinds of lessons. The only bad thing was that he couldn't take his little brother with him.

Ponyboy stood quietly near Soda's chair, watching him get ready. He didn't completely understand why Soda had to go somewhere without him. They had told him, of course, that he had to start school like Darry, but Sodapop and Ponyboy had always been together.

Mrs. Curtis just sighed and turned Soda around to fix his lumberjack shirt so the collar was straight. "Steve will meet you on the bus and you two better behave," she said and pointed at him. She didn't want to have to be called to the school on the first day because Soda had made trouble.

When Sodapop turned to say goodbye to Ponyboy, he saw there were tears in his eyes and hugged him tight. "Don't cry, Pony. I'll be back real soon and then I'll tell you about everything that happened. It'll be like you been there yourself." Ponyboy held on to his brother, wiping his eyes in his shirt.

"We better get going," Darry said. "Otherwise we'll miss the bus."

Sodapop kissed Ponyboy's cheek. "I'll be back soon."

Ponyboy smiled and kept up the facade, but when the door closed behind his brother, he broke down, sobbing.

"Oh, honey," Mrs. Curtis said and pulled him into a hug. "Don't you worry. Sodapop will be home again in a couple of hours. And maybe Johnny will come by and play."

Ponyboy sniveled and nodded. He would like Johnny to come. Johnny was the person next after Soda that he loved playing with. They played more quiet games. Soda would mostly play wild games, and Pony liked that, but he also liked sitting quietly on the floor, building things or other quiet activities. So while Sodapop would run around crazy with Steve, Pony and Johnny would sit on the floor or in the sandbox. Always with Sodapop in sight, though. And when Soda went somewhere, to the park or Steve's house for instance, he always brought Ponyboy.

There was a soft knock on the door and Mrs. Curtis opened it to find Johnny standing outside with his teddy bear in his arms. His mother had luckily not tried to rip it apart since Mrs. Curtis had fixed it last time. He sent her a shy smile as she opened the door. "C-can I come in and play with Ponyboy?"

"Of course, honey, come on in. You know you're always welcome," smiled Mrs. Curtis.

"Hi, Johnny," said Ponyboy and wiped his eyes.

"Why you sad?" Johnny asked and went over to Ponyboy and offered him his teddy bear for comfort.

Ponyboy carefully took it and sent Johnny a smile. It was a big thing, getting to hold Johnny's bear. Not because Johnny wasn't good at sharing things, but his teddy was extremely important to him. He would get upset if he couldn't have it with him all the time. "Soda gone to school. I miss him," explained Pony.

"Oh..." Johnny said. He had forgotten that Soda had to go to school even though they had told him the other day. "He be back soon."

"Yeah..." said Ponyboy. "What you wanna play?"

"We can look in your picture book?" Johnny suggested as they sat down. Even though Ponyboy was only two years old and couldn't read, he could make up good stories fitting the pictures in his book.

"Yeah," smiled Pony. "We can do that." He found the new book he had gotten for his birthday a couple of weeks ago. Soda had decided on it, so of course it had cowboys and horses in it.

Johnny sat down close to Pony. Even though he was two years older than him, he wasn't much bigger. Mrs. Curtis figured that Johnny wasn't growing the way he should, because of the conditions he was growing up in – even though she did her best to feed him plenty of nutritious food whenever he came to visit.

Mrs. Curtis came in with a juice box for each of them and smiled when seeing that they had found the book. "You gonna read to Johnny?" she smiled at Ponyboy.

"Yeah. It's a good story. It's about a cowboy that can't find his pony, so he go round asking all the animals on the farm if they seen him."

"Oh, that does sound like a good story."

Johnny was already looking expectantly at Pony, hugging his bear. Pony told the story as if he were reading. It was a different story every time. He liked making up different stories.

 **o0o0o**

As Soda and Darry stepped on the bus, Steve and Keith waved eagerly at them from the hindmost seats. Sodapop grinned and hurried to the back, plopping down next to Steve. They did their usual fist-against-fist greeting and laughed. "Man, this is gonna be fun! Keith - what's the funniest classes?"

"All of them are great but spelling is best, I think. It's fun cause I get to spell a lot of different words. Even words the teacher don't want me to learn," Keith laughed.

Sodapop grinned. He wanted to learn the bad words, too.

"You sit next to me," Steve said and pulled Soda down on a chair next to him. It was time for their first lesson.

All the kids gawked at Sodapop when the teacher called his name. Some even laughed, but Soda didn't mind at all. He just grinned. Steve said some very bad words to the ones who had been laughing, and the teacher had to give him a reprimand.

"I don't like this place," Steve said as they were told to draw their home and family. "You wanna go to the park when we get home?"

"Sure," said Sodapop, not looking up from his piece of paper where he was drawing himself sitting on a big horse next to his family members. "If Mom lets me take Ponyboy as well."

Steve rolled his eyes and started on his own drawing. It pictured himself and his mother standing in front of a house, and his father lying on the ground covered in red. The teacher stopped, looking over his shoulder. "What's with all that red color?" she asked, peering over the rim of her glasses.

"Nothing," Steve answered and put the crayon down before pushing the paper away from him. "There. All done."

"But you must have chosen the color for a reason," said the teacher.

"Yeah, I wish my dad was dead and gone," Steve said as if it were no big deal. "I'd rather it was just me and my mom."

The teacher sighed. In another part of town she might have been shocked, but this was far from the first time she had come across an angry child. There were many of the poor kids coming from bad homes in this area. "I'm sure he isn't all that bad," she said. "Some parents are just strict because they want the best for their children."

Steve ignored her and looked at Soda's drawing. "You don't have a horse," he pointed out.

"I do so!" insisted Sodapop. "Mr. Pony. Okay, maybe he ain't that big, but he's a great horse."

"Well, you sure drew him a lot bigger than he is." Steve laughed, looking at the horse, which almost covered the entire piece of paper.

"Well now, kids," said the teacher, speaking up so everyone could hear her. "Put away your drawings and let's see if you can spell your own names." She went up to the blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk. "I'm Miss Pritchet," she said and wrote her name. "Now each of you come up here and write yours. If you don't know how, I'll help." She called up a girl, who spelled her name (Ann) correctly and then a boy who needed a little help. "Steve," she called then. "Will you come up here?"

"I'd rather not," Steve mumbled, but got up and walked to the blackboard. He took the chalk and began writing, but after "STE" he stopped. "Um..." he mumbled and stood facing the blackboard. He could hear a few snickers behind him.

"V," whispered the teacher.

Steve wrote the V but had to get another hint from the teacher before writing the E. "I told you I would hate this place," he mumbled to Soda as he sat back down.

"Oh, come on," said Soda, who was having fun. "You ain't the only one can't spell his name."

When Sodapop was called he jumped up and raced to the blackboard. He had no idea how to spell his name other then the first letter. Darry had tried sitting him down several times to teach him, but it had bored him after about ten seconds. So now he just made up what he thought looked good, using the letters he remembered how looked.

SdV+0FP

Steve tilted his head and studied the name. That sure didn't look right and if that was how Soda's name was spelled then he sure had a funny looking name.

Some of the kids in the class broke out laughing. You didn't have to know a lot about the alphabet to see that that wasn't correct. The look on the teacher's face also gave it away.

"That ain't right, you idiot," said a red-haired boy.

"Well, can you spell it, then?" said Soda, still smiling, and offered up the piece of chalk.

That wiped the grin of the boy's face and he mumbled, "Well, it ain't me who has such a stupid name..."

The teacher erased the letters and asked for Soda to start over. She quickly had to stop him from repeating the mistake and helped him write it correctly. "There... Sodapop. That's how your name is spelled."

Lunch break, Steve and Soda went to meet up with Darry and Keith at one of the benches. Keith had already earned himself a detention, but he didn't mind. As he said: he liked school.

"What's detention?" asked Soda with his mouth full of sandwich. He had never heard Darry talking about detention.

"It's when you gotta stay after school because you do something bad and the teacher sits and lectures you," Keith grinned. "I usually have detention with this kid named Dallas. Now that's a tuff kid! He don't care what the teacher says. He just rolls his eyes and says bad words."

"So is it fun or not? Don't you ever go, Darry?" Soda asked.

"It's kinda boring," Keith admitted and took a sip of his juice box. "And Darry never goes. He's a good student."

Darry just shrugged. He had never had a detention and he wasn't about to start either.

"So, maybe we should try, huh?" said Soda, elbowing Steve. "See for ourselves. Whatdoya do to get one?"

"You just act up and -" Keith started but Darry cut him off. "Mom ain't gonna like it if you get detention," he said strictly. "It's a bad thing to get so don't you start any trouble."

Sodapop looked from Darry to Keith and back again. Darry never was any fun. And how could he know if their mother wouldn't like it, if he had never tried it? Soda was going to try, he decided. Maybe not today, but soon.

Next class was math and Sodapop did a little better here. At least he could count to ten. Steve could count to twenty, but he was half a year older than Soda, so he figured it was fair.

At the back of the class sat a kid with hair so blond it made Soda's hair look brown. He told the teacher to stick her head up her ass, when he was asked what three plus five was.

Steve turned on his chair and looked at the blonde. He snickered as he turned back to Soda. "That must be the guy that Keith talked about. He sure seems tuff!"

The teacher went red in the face. "You better start behaving yourself and learn some math, Winston, if you don't want to still sit in this class as a grown-up!"

"I ain't gonna be here when I'm grown-up! I'm gonna split as soon as I get the chance!"

"Well - one more word from you and you're off to the principal's office!"

Steve listened in as the teacher and Dallas were arguing and he couldn't help but think that this guy was cool as hell. They definitely needed to get to know him better.

After class Steve and Soda walked up to him a little hesitantly. "Hey," Steve said. "Nice job putting the teacher in her place."

Dallas snorted, but looked a little pleased with the compliment. "Piece of cake, man. They ain't got no spine here. They don't even whip ya. And who's afraid of detention?"

"We heard you got detention lots of times," Steve grinned and slung an arm around Soda's shoulder. "We're gonna meet up with some friends. Wanna come?"

Dallas looked at them blankly for a second. Then he shrugged. "Maybe."

Keith and Darry were waiting for them at the bus and Darry frowned at Dallas when they arrived.

"Hey, Dallas," Keith grinned and patted him on the back. "We both got off from detention, huh?"

"I thought you said you had one?" said Soda

"Teacher bailed. Had something important to do, he said," Keith shrugged.

Dallas got off as the first one, after declined going to the park to ride the swings. "That's kids' stuff, man."

"Well, we _are_ kids!" reasoned Sodapop. "How old are you?"

"Six. See y'all tomorrow."

"Man, I hope I'll still wanna ride the swings when I'm six," said Soda to the others.

"You will," Darry said and watched as the blond boy vanished into a ramshackle house. "You'll be a kid forever."

"Well, we live in our neighborhood so we might see him outside of school again," Steve said as they got off the bus at the Curtis house.

 **o0o0o**

Ponyboy came running up the driveway as fast as his short legs could carry him. Sodapop caught him and lifted him a little off the ground.

"I missed you," said Pony and buried his face in Sodapop's shirt.

"Can we bring Ponyboy to the park?" Sodapop asked while they were all sitting at the kitchen table having cookies and milk.

"Well..." started Mrs. Curtis. Ponyboy was only two, and even though the Curtises trusted Soda to look after him, Soda often wasn't even able to look after himself properly. Although - Mrs. Curtis had to admit - he was more careful with Pony than he was with himself. Darry was old and responsible enough to look after Ponyboy but she would rather go with them and sit on a bench while they played. "I'll come with you."

As soon as they reached the park Keith jumped onto the best of the swings and kicked off to gain speed. Darry took another swing and Sodapop a third, placing Ponyboy on his lap. "Hold on, Pony. Mom will push us, won't you, Mom?"

Mrs. Curtis agreed, although Sodapop was not satisfied with the force she used.

"C'mon, Mom - I know you're stronger than that! I won't let Pony fall off."

She gave the swing a slightly more powerful push. Johnny stood with his teddy bear and watched as they were all playing. He didn't quite know where to place himself amongst the laughing children, so he just watched. After a while Ponyboy felt a little dizzy, so he got off and went over to start a quiet game in the sand box with Johnny.

Mrs. Curtis thanked God that her youngest son was such an easy child. She didn't know how she would have been able to cope with two hyperactive, reckless boys. And Darry was always so sensible, so she didn't have to keep a constant eye on him either.

Steve sat down in the sandbox as well, starting to build a ramp for his car.

"Tell me when it's done," said Sodapop, who had too much energy right now to sit down and build things. "Then I wanna try it."

Ten minutes later Steve called for Soda, letting him know that the ramp was done. But Sodapop was occupied with something else now, so he told Steve to wait. He was climbing the monkey bars, trying to see if he could crawl upside down like a spider. Unfortunately, little boys just don't have the physical attributes that spiders do, so suddenly he lost his grip and fell crashing to the ground. The pain in his arm was excruciating and it had gotten a funny shape. Soda set off in a loud wail, kicking his feet in the sand from the pain and shock.

Mrs. Curtis ran over to her son and she could tell from just looking at the arm that it was broken. "We have to get you to the hospital," she said and helped Soda up.

When they got home she quickly called Mrs. Matthews, who lived close by, and got her to come pick up Keith and Steve. She then put the rest of the boys into the car and drove to the hospital.

Sodapop was still wailing and clutching his arm. Ponyboy, who was scared because his brother was so upset, was crying too. "Mama - is Soda gonna die?" he sobbed.

"No, honey. He's just a little hurt but he'll be fine." She tried to sound cheerful but it wasn't working. Johnny was also getting upset and Darry didn't look happy either.

"It hurts!" wailed Sodapop and kicked the front seat hysterically. "Make it stop!"

 **o0o0o**

In the meantime, Mrs. Matthews had gotten a hold of Mr. Curtis and he arrived at the hospital about the same time as his wife. Mrs. Curtis was relieved that she could concentrate on parking and keep an eye on the other children, while Mr. Curtis helped a hysterical Sodapop out of the car and carried him into the emergency room.

"Well..." said the doctor, studying Sodapop's arm. "We hardly have to take an x-ray to know that arm is broken, but we have to see the damages."

A nurse came over with a syringe and tried to hold Sodapop's other arm still so she could give him a shot. But Sodapop saw the needle and was up for no more discomfort today. "NO," he yelled and pulled at his arm. "I don't wanna!"

"It's for the pain," she tried to explain. "It will stop it from hurting so bad in your arm."

"NO! No needle!" yelled Sodapop, thrashing wildly to get away from the evil nurse.

His father put a gentle arm around him and tried to explain that it would make the pain go away, but little did it help. Soda was impervious to reason. "Daddy just wants you to be all better," he tried to explain. It hurt his heart to hear his little boy cry like that. "Just trust daddy, okay?"

Sodapop finally gave in and held still for a moment so the nurse could get a chance to give him the shot. "It hurt, Daddy," he sobbed, but was already starting to feel tired as the pain was ebbing away.

"I think we need to sedate him right away, so he won't move while we take the x-rays," said the doctor. "We will need to, anyway, when we have to set the bones straight."

Mr. Curtis nodded and gently stroked Soda's hair as they gave him another shot before putting him on a bed and wheeling him to the x-ray.

The family sat waiting while the doctors were working on Soda's arm. No one said anything apart from Pony who kept asking for Soda. They assured him that he would be alright and didn't let him know that they were both worried.

"I just feel so bad for not looking better after him," said Mrs. Curtis to her husband, discretely wiping her eyes. "I was just looking at the other kids for a moment..."

"Johnny, do you think his arm is gonna fall off?" Ponyboy asked, sitting on the floor with Johnny.

Johnny looked terrified. "I... I don't hope."

"It's okay," Mr. Curtis said in a comforting tone and gave his wife's shoulder a squeeze. "You can't be everywhere at once and with a wild child like Sodapop it was bound to happen sooner or later."

The doctor came out and told them that they could go in and see Sodapop now. His arm had been put in a cast and he was just waking up.

Both parents went in, taking Ponyboy with them and asking Darry to keep an eye on Johnny.

Sodapop was groggy, but he managed a small smile when he saw his family. "They fixed it. Doctor said it will grow back when I sleep," he said, thinking that it would be as good as new in the morning.

"Well, you will need to sleep many times before we can take off the cast," said the doctor. "But just be careful and it will mend just fine in a month or so. We will have to keep him a couple of days to make sure his arm stays still. The first days are crucial."

"But I wanna go home!" said Sodapop.

Mr. Curtis looked at his son and sighed. He knew if they took him home there was no way they would be able to keep him still. "If you say so, Doctor... "

Ponyboy looked from Sodapop to the doctor to his parents. Realizing that this meant Sodapop was going to sleep at the hospital, he started climbing the bed.

"No, no," Ponyboy," said Mrs. Curtis and pulled her son off.

"I stay too," said the small boy resolutely.

"You can't do that, sweetie. Only sick people can sleep at the hospital. You have to come home with us."

"NO!" said Ponyboy desperately and started crying. As long as he could remember, he had never slept without Sodapop.

"But honey... we can't stay, but I promise we'll come and visit Soda every day and he will be home again in a couple of days and maybe we can ask Johnny to sleep over until Soda gets home?"

Ponyboy kept crying. He liked Johnny a lot, but he wasn't sure Johnny knew how to scare away the monsters under the bed. And Darry was no good at all, even if he moved into Soda and Pony's room. He didn't believe in monsters and had told Pony he was stupid for believing in them.

"You can sleep in our bed?" she then proposed.

Ponyboy nodded but didn't stop crying.

"Don't cry, Pony," said Sodapop. "You'll come see me tomorrow. You can bring your books and read for me." For Pony's sake Sodapop forced himself not to cry when they said goodbye, but when they had left he couldn't help crying just a little.

Darry and Johnny looked expectantly at them when they came out.

"Sodapop has to live here now," Ponyboy informed them, still sniveling.

Johnny's eyes grew wide. "Y-you don't want him no more?" he asked Mr. and Mrs. Curtis.

Mrs. Curtis smiled and patted the boy's heads. "Soda is just gonna spend a few nights here and then we get him back home."

"Because his arm is sick. Sick people live in hospitals," said Ponyboy.

Mr. Curtis stopped the car at the diner on the way home to get some milk shakes for the boys, hoping to cheer them up a bit.

 **o0o0o**

The house felt empty when they came home. Soda usually ran around playing noisily, but now there was just three quiet kids standing in the living room, not knowing what to do or say.

"Mom," said Ponyboy suddenly. "I think I'm real sick."

"What do you mean?" she asked and looked nervously at him, feeling his forehead.

"I think I have to go live in the hospital. Because I'm sick."

She smiled and kissed the top of his head. "Little sweetheart - Soda will be home before you know it."

"You have to sing the monster-song," instructed Ponyboy when his mother put him to bed.

"But I don't know the words," she said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Ponyboy sang it and them looked at her, waiting. She repeated what he had just sung the best she could.

When Ponyboy had fallen asleep she tiptoed out into the kitchen and sat down opposite her husband who had just made a pot of coffee. "Gosh... What a day," she said as he poured her a cup.

"Yeah," he sighed. "That boy is so wild it was bound to happen at some point. I'm just glad it's only an arm."

"Me too. We can only hope this teaches him to be more careful..."

They looked at each other and laughed.

* * *

 **A/N:** To see Zayhad's illustration to the chapter go to deviantart dot com and look up Zayhad. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it.


	5. I'm not Lost

**A/N: Just to give you guys an idea of how far this fic is going to be: We're about half way through. Thanks to you all for reading :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – I'm not Lost**

Steve came with Mrs. Curtis and her boys the next day to the hospital. He had brought a few comic books for Soda. "You can borrow these until you get better," he said and put them on the table.

Sodapop smiled and pointed at his cast. (It had been stripped to a support so he couldn't move it). "Look - how cool is that? You gotta write on it and stuff."

"Yeah," Steve grinned and sat down, grabbing a pen. "I'll draw a car as well. I'm gonna be a race driver when I grow up."

"Cool!" said Sodapop. "You'll be a tuff driver. Make it blue. Mom, can you ask the nurses if they got blue crayon?"

"Sure, honey," she said and left the room.

"Keith asked about ya," Steve said. "He found this for you." Steve pulled a small pony teddy up from his backpack.

"TUFF!" Soda exclaimed and examined the stuffed animal. "He can sleep in my bed."

Steve got back to drawing his car. "Man, I got scared when you fell down. I thought your arm had fell off."

"It was nothing. It almost didn't hurt at all," said Soda.

"That why you cried so much?" Steve teased.

"I didn't cry that much..." Sodapop tried. "Man - you woulda too."

"I probably would. Your arm looked funny so I bet it hurt real bad," Steve said and put the pen down. "When you gonna get out? I miss you at school. It's no fun without you"

"Dunno. Soon, I hope. It's so boring here. I can't even go play. I'm tied to the bed. But them nurses are nice. They come every time I pull this," said Sodapop and pulled the string next to his bed.

Only a few moments later a nurse walked through the door and smiled at Soda. "Yes?"

Steve looked at her in awe.

"I just wanted to show my friend what happens when I pull the string," grinned Sodapop.

"Sodapop," said the nurse in a reprimanding tone. "We talked about this - you can't pull the string all the time. Only when you need help." She didn't sound really mad, though. Like Sodapop did with most people he had charmed his way into every one of the staff's hearts.

Steve just snickered as the nurse left again. "That was so cool! Let's do it again!" He reached out for the string but Darry stopped him. "Didn't you hear her?" he scolded. "It ain't there for fun."

Mrs. Curtis returned with a blue crayon. "Here you are, sweetheart," she said and sat down.

Steve colored the car, and then Ponyboy, who had been sitting quietly at the foot of the bed, said, "I wanna write, too." Very impressively he wrote his name on the cast. Granted - it wasn't the most elegant looking letters, but it was spelled correctly.

"Wow," said Sodapop. "I didn't know you could do that!"

"Darry teached me yesterday," said Ponyboy, smiling all over his face. It always made him so proud when Sodapop praised him.

"Show-off," Steve mumbled and took one of his comics and flipped open a page.

"Well," said Mrs. Curtis and got up. "We have to go soon, boys, so you better say goodbye. We'll be back tomorrow. She kissed Soda on the top of his head.

"No!" said Ponyboy. "No! I wanna stay more!"

"Visiting hours are almost over, little man," said a nurse who just came in. "Sodapop needs rest."

"No, I don't!" said Sodapop. "I ain't tired at all!"

"Your _arm_ needs rest, then."

"No - it ain't tired either."

"I promise we'll be back tomorrow as soon as they let us," Mrs. Curtis said.

Ponyboy started crying and Mrs. Curtis whispered to him, "Stop crying, Pony. You're upsetting Soda."

Sodapop cried a little when they had left. The nurse from before sat down next to his bed. "It's gonna be alright, honey," she said and wiped his eyes. She smiled at him. "You sure have a smart little brother, don't you?"

"He's the smartest kid in the world. And he's the best little brother too. I look after him always. That's why he's scared when I ain't there. I need to be there to protect him."

"He's very lucky to have a big brother like you. So we gotta fix you right up so you can go back home and look after him."

"I'm fine now," said Sodapop. "It don't even hurt no more," he lied.

"If that's true it's because of the drugs and not because your arm has healed. You need to stay here for a few more days until we're sure that your bone will mend properly," she said and got up. "Now if you need anything you just pull the string."

Sodapop pulled the string five minutes later.

"What is it?" sighed the nurse.

"I'm bored. I can't lie still no more."

She turned on the TV. "Watch some TV or look in the magazines your friend left for you. You have to stay in bed."

Sodapop groaned. "But I stayed in bed almost a week now! I can't sleep!"

"Then watch TV," she said and placed her hands on her hips. "And you've only been here a day. You can handle a few more."

After an hour of watching TV Sodapop couldn't possibly focus any longer. He was desperate to get up. He looked at his arm, which was strapped down tightly. Then he checked out the fastening. He fiddled with it for a minute and then - it came untied! He crawled out of bed, and found that his arm really hurt when he moved it. But no way was he going to let that stop him from going exploring, so he tried holding it close to his body and as still as possible as he ventured out into the corridor. There was no one there at the moment, so he moved down to the first room with an open door and entered it.

There was an elderly man in one bed and a woman sleeping in the other. "Hello," Sodapop said cheerfully, looking at the man. "What do you live here for?"

The elderly man looked at Soda in surprise but then smiled. "Oh... I'm just old fool who fell and broke his hip," he said and nodded towards a chair next to the bed. "Come sit, little fella. I think I might have some chocolate for you."

Soda's face split into a grin and he jumped on the chair. "I love chocolate! It's the best food in the world!"

"That's what I keep telling my wife but she don't agree," the man grinned and found the chocolate for Soda. He then eyed his arm and nodded. "Break your arm, did ya?"

"Yessir. I fell down the monkey bars. I was playing spider," said Soda and stuffed a huge piece of chocolate into his mouth.

The man shook his head and grinned. "I see. Well kids nowadays are so wild, but it's good to explore the world." He leaned back against the pillow and took a deep breath. "When I was your age I used to work all day long. I helped my daddy before school and after school. That was just how things were back then."

"Oh," said Sodapop, thinking how horrible it must be not having time to play. "What did you do? Did you live on a farm?"

"Sure did," the old man smiled. "Out there in Windrixville. Do you know where that is?"

Sodapop shook his head. "Were you a cowboy? Did you have horses?" he asked, suddenly very excited.

"You betcha," laughed the old man. "We had horses and a good deal of cattle as well," he said as his eyes started to shine when remembering his childhood. "I rode almost before I could walk. I roped my first calf at the age of seven." He laughed when Soda's eyes got huge. "You should ask your folks to go to Windrixville for a family holiday. It's a mighty fine place."

"Yeah! Yeah – I wanna do that! We been to the country before but we only saw some ponies we could pet. I wanna ride 'em too. I love horses. They're the best things in the whole world! I wanna be a cowboy when I grow up." Sodapop's face now bore clear evidence that he had been eating chocolate.

The old man grinned. "That sounds really interesting," he said. "A cowboy has a very important job. Lots of fresh air too. That's good for ya."

"Yeah," grinned Soda. "I wanna ride the fastest horses and catch cows with my lasso. Did you have guns too?"

"Not like they do in the movies," said the man, shaking his head. "This ain't the wild west no more. But we did have shotguns to protect the livestock from predators." He offered Soda another piece of chocolate.

The woman in the next bed had just woken up and was watching Sodapop. "Who is that sweet little boy - is that your grandson, Gus?"

The old man grinned proudly as if Soda were indeed his grandson. "No, he just walked in here to talk to us. He's a mighty fine fella that wants to be a cowboy."

Sodapop smiled at the woman. "I'm Sodapop Curtis. I live next door."

"That's a very unusual name, little fella," Gus said, his eyebrows raised. "I don't think I ever met anyone with such a name."

"Dad says it's because I was such a happy baby, bubbling with energy."

The two looked at each other and grinned. "Well then it's a perfect name," the woman said.

"Sodapop Curtis!" a woman's voice sounded behind him. They all looked up and spotted a nurse standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. "Why are you out of bed?"

"I couldn't stay there no longer. It's so boring I maybe die from it," explained Sodapop.

"But you can't just walk off and bother other patients," the nurse scolded.

"Oh, he ain't bothering us at all and he's been behaving excellent," Gus smiled at the nurse.

"You need to get back in bed, young man," said the nurse. "If your arm doesn't start mending right we might have to operate on it to put it right, and that's a serious matter. And then you'd have to lie still much longer than you do now. Do you understand?"

Sodapop looked down at his feet. He understood what she was saying but a couple more days tied to that bed just seemed impossible to him.

"A good cowboy needs healthy strong arms," said Gus. "You wanna be a good cowboy, right?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I better try and be still," mumbled Soda and took the nurse's hand to let her walk him back. "Goodbye Mr. Gus and Mrs. Lady. I'll visit again tomorrow."

"We will look forward to that," Gus called after him.

"It was nice of you to go visit them," the nurse said and walked him back to his room and put him to bed. "They really liked to talk to you, I could tell, but as Gus said - it's important that you have strong arms if you wanna be a cowboy."

Sodapop really tried to lie still and be patient, but it was difficult - especially with the sugar he had just eaten in Gus' room. He spent a little time flipping through the comics Steve had brought and then looked at Ponyboy's books, which he had left behind. The thought of Ponyboy suddenly made him very homesick. Ponyboy missed him and needed him. And Sodapop felt the same way. Then he made a decision. He might as well lie still at home, so he unstrapped his arm once again and tiptoed to the door. He peaked out and when the coast was clear he hurried down the corridor and out of the ward. It took a little time for him to find an exit and he was more than lucky not to be spotted and stopped by an employee.

Outside there were many people and traffic rushing by. He stood a little, thinking about what to do, but then chose a direction.

 **o0o0o**

Mrs. Curtis was sitting in the living room and watched Johnny and Pony playing when the phone suddenly rang. She picked up the phone. "Yes?" ... "What do you mean, my son is gone?" … "You must find him, then!" She hung up the phone, first looking shocked, then determined. "Pony and Johnny – we're going for a ride!"

 **o0o0o**

Sodapop walked for a while but didn't see anything he recognized. It didn't look like his neighborhood at all. The houses were much bigger and cleaner. He would have called home if he could, but he didn't remember the phone number. He was freezing with nothing on but a thin hospital shirt and his arm was really starting to hurt, so he used his free hand to hold it close to his chest. Then he spotted a bus stop and got the idea to get on a bus. There were busses close to their house too, so maybe they would drive there.

There was a woman at the bus stop, looking at him for a while before asking, "Where's your parents, sweetie?"

"At home. I'm going there."

"What's that you're wearing - a hospital shirt? Did you just come from the hospital?"

"Yes, but I'm better now and can go home."

She looked at him in disbelief. "Are you sure your parents wouldn't pick you up at the hospital?" She looked around but there was no sign of any parents. "Tell you what – why don't I take you back to the hospital?"

"No, no, that ain't necessary," said Soda, shaking his head. "I'll just take that bus," he said and pointed at a bus approaching the stop. "Then I'll be right home."

"Are you sure this bus goes to your house?" she asked.

"Yes," nodded Sodapop as a bus pulled up and opened its doors. Sodapop got into the bus and the driver asked for twenty-five cents. "Um... I don't have any money..."

The woman who had been talking to Sodapop got on board and payed for Sodapop. "I'll make sure you get home, sweetie," she said and took of her jacket, putting it gently around him to warm him. "Where's your stop?"

"Um… I'll know it when I see it," said Sodapop, looking out the window. "There's a big empty lot across from our house. And there's a park real close by. With a fountain and a playground. That's where I broke my arm."

The lady eyed Sodapop for a minute and made a decision. She got off at the next stop where she knew there was a local police station and went inside. "I've found a lost little boy," she said at the counter.

"I'm not lost, I'm right here!" said Sodapop.

The officer looked at Soda. "The hospital has actually called and reported him missing, so if you just take a seat I'll give them a call."

 **o0o0o**

"What if we don't find him?" said Ponyboy to Johnny, his voice shaking.

Johnny looked nervous as well. The town they lived in was huge and you could easily get lost. What if they never found Soda? What if he was gone for good?

 **o0o0o**

In the meantime, Mr. Curtis had been contacted at work and had driven to the hospital in a hurry. He was furious at them for not looking better after Sodapop. A five-year-old patient simply should not be able to slip out unseen. Not even a slippery kid like Sodapop.

The clerk at the front desk hung up the phone and looked at Mr. Curtis. "That was the police. They found your son. Don't worry - he's unharmed. He's at the station in district 7."

"Thank God," exclaimed Mr. Curtis and asked them to tell his wife, if she showed up, that he had gone to pick up Sodapop. "I'm taking him home, since staying here ain't working very well."

The nurse gave Mr. Curtis a sling and instructed him to make Sodapop wear it for the next month to support his arm and to keep him still in bed for preferably a week.

 **o0o0o**

At the station Sodapop wasn't feeling too good. He was tired and his arm hurt a lot although a nice officer had given him a couple of aspirins and a lollipop.

The lady sat with him on a bench. "Don't you worry. Your mom and dad will soon be here to pick you up."

About fifteen minutes later Mr. Curtis walked through the doors.

"DADDY!" called Sodapop.

Mr. Curtis hurried over to Soda and kneeled down in front of him, examining him. "Oh, thank God you're okay," he said. "I'm gonna take you home and I hope Mom will be home soon as well."

"I'm sorry, Daddy," mumbled Sodapop, looking down at his feet. He knew he had been bad. He had disobeyed both the hospital staff and his parents.

Mr. Curtis thanked the lady who had found Sodapop profusely. "We'll talk about this later," he informed his son as he carried him to the car. "Right now we'll go home and get you to bed. But I am very disappointed in you."

 **o0o0o**

When Mrs. Curtis didn't know where else to look for her son, she went to the hospital and was very relieved to hear that he had been found and taken home. She raced back and ran into the house, finding Sodapop already in his bed. "Thank goodness," she cried and planted kisses all over Soda's face until Soda begged her to stop. "Do you know how worried me and Daddy got?" she asked, now looking a little angry.

"I'm sorry, Mama," said Soda, sounding ashamed. "But I couldn't lie still there no more. It was so boring. And Ponyboy needed me home."

"You do realize that you're gonna have to lie just as still here? It's no different," said Mrs. Curtis.

"Yeah, but - at least I have Pony here," said Soda and hugged his little brother who had jumped onto his bed the second he and Mrs. Curtis and Johnny had come home. "And my friends can visit here as long as they want."

"And now, young man, you are going to sleep," said his father in a stern voice. Under strong protest he had strapped down Soda's arm like they had at the hospital. He didn't want to risk it having to be reset again.

Ponyboy climbed down under the covers next to his brother. "I'm tired too."

"Okay. But you have to be very careful. You can't bump Soda's arm," said Mrs. Curtis.

She made a bed for Johnny next to Soda's bed. His parents didn't care where he was, anyway. Mrs. Curtis wasn't sure if it was because they guessed that he was at their house or they just didn't care at all.

Before falling asleep, Sodapop told Ponyboy and Johnny all about the adventures of his escape. About the old cowboy with the chocolate, about sneaking out of the hospital, about the nice lady and the bus ride.

* * *

 **A/N:** To see Zayhad's illustration to the chapter go to deviantart dot com and look up Zayhad. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it.


	6. Tuff, man!

**A/N: This chapter is pretty short - so we decided to give it to you as an EXTRA chap. That means that chapter 7 is coming up on Thursday :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – Tuff, man!**

Ten days after breaking his arm Sodapop was allowed to go back to school. Ponyboy, of course, was a little upset, because he had enjoyed spending every day with Soda at home, but Sodapop was glad to get out of the house again and loved all the attention he got from showing off his cast.

"Did it hurt?" one girl asked while poking the cast carefully.

"Of course it hurt, dummy," a boy said and rolled his eyes. "I heard that it almost fell off!"

Every time Sodapop told the story it became a little more extreme. "The bones were sticking out in all directions, ain't that right, Steve?"

Steve went along with it and nodded. "Yes and those monkey bars were as tall as a house!" He stretched his arms as far up as he could and got a wild expression on his face.

Even Dallas was a little impressed. "So the doctors put it back together?" he asked, examining the cast.

"Yeah. They put me to sleep to do it. And they put needles and tubes in my arm," grinned Sodapop as if the experience had been fun. "And they tied me to the bed, but I escaped. It took a long time for them to find me and take me to the police station."

Dallas looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Tuff, man!"

The other kids looked even more impressed.

"You actually went out on your own without a grown-up?" a girl in a nice yellow dress asked in disbelief. "That must have been real scary!"

"No, it was fun," grinned Sodapop. "But it was good they caught me when they did, because I could feel my arm was starting to fall off again. If the cast hadn't been there I think it would've."

They all looked shocked and one blurted out a "tuff!"

"All right, take your seats," the teacher called as no one had noticed that the bell had rung and the teacher had entered the room.

"The witch is here," Steve mumbled and took his seat.

"I heard that, Steven!" said the teacher and was standing in front of Steve in three seconds. "You want another detention? I thought you learned your lesson last Tuesday!"

Steve shot Soda a proud look and said to the teacher, "Well, maybe I did and maybe I didn't."

This made Dallas laugh as well and lean in over his table to give Steve a high-five.

"I'll see you after school, then," said the teacher.

"Man - you tried detention?" asked Sodapop. "Is it fun?"

"It's actually pretty boring..." Steve admitted and laid down his head against the desk. "But you're tuff when you get detention, and me and Dallas, and Keith drive the teacher crazy. Shooting paper planes around the room and such."

Now _that_ sounded like something Sodapop could do to get detention. He wasn't the type to say bad things to the teachers or do mean things, but _fun_ things - that was something else. "I love paper planes!" he exclaimed loudly.

"Quiet, Sodapop," said the teacher. "And take out your math book."

Fifteen minutes into the lesson Sodapop couldn't concentrate anymore and he leaned in Dallas' direction. "Dallas - wanna come to my place after school? My Mom makes real good chocolate chip cookies. And you can see the x-rays of my arm."

"What's that?"

"It's pictures that show the _inside_ of you!"

"SODAPOP!" sounded the teacher. "I told you not to talk!"

When they left class, Steve told Soda that he would drop by after his detention. "You're gonna love Soda's place, Dallas. It's awesome."

"Yeah," said Dallas, mostly looking forward to see the skeleton pictures.

 **o0o0o**

Mrs. Curtis met them in the doorway. "Oh, who's your new friend?"

"That's Dallas. He's real tuff," smiled Sodapop.

Dallas ignored Mrs. Curtis and pushed his way past her into the house.

Mrs. Curtis' eyes followed Dallas and then she looked at Soda. "Not too friendly, is he?"

Johnny and Ponyboy were sitting on the floor playing. They both looked up when Dallas came in and Johnny gulped, his eyes growing wide. This kid had a mean look on his face. He looked dangerous.

"Who's the kiddies?" Dallas asked Soda.

"That's my little brother Ponyboy, and that's Johnny, our good friend. Ya gotta promise to be real nice to them."

"What's the matter with that kid?" asked Dallas when they had moved on to Soda's and Pony's room. "He looked like he was about to shit himself."

"Oh, Johnny's parents are _so_ mean. They beat him and they don't care about him at all. They don't care if he gets anything to eat or where he is. So he's here a lot. He's a good kid. A real good friend, too."

Mrs. Curtis called them to come for cookies and milk and they hurried into the kitchen where Ponyboy and Johnny were already seated at the table.

Dally hopped onto a chair and without waiting for permission he grabbed a large handful of cookies and slapped them onto his plate.

"Easy now," Mrs. Curtis said and placed her hands on her hips. "Dallas, in this house we wait until we're invited and we take small portions so there's enough for everyone."

Dallas looked at her as if he didn't give a damn and jammed a whole cookie into his mouth.

She just sighed and took a few of the cookies off Dallas' plate, planting them on each of the others'. "That's more like it."

Sodapop showed the smaller boys and his mother all the new signature and drawings on his cast. "Look - it's almost full!"

"We're gonna have to save that cast when it comes off," she said with a smile.

"C… can I draw something too?" Johnny asked a little nervously.

Sodapop looked at him in surprise. "Yeah! I thought you already did!" Then he jumped off the chair and ran through the house like a tornado to find a pen.

Soda jumped back onto his chair and handed Johnny a pen. Johnny finally found a blank spot on the cast. Slowly he started drawing a stick figure of a horse, knowing how Soda loved horses.

Sodapop grinned as he looked at it. "That's a mighty fine pony. Thanks, Johnny," he said and gave Johnny a kiss on the cheek.

Johnny dropped his head shyly. "I'm... I'm glad you like it," he whispered.

Dallas stared at Sodapop as if he had just turned blue in the face. "Why the hell d'ya kiss him?"

"Because I love him," said Soda matter-of-factly. "I kiss all the people I love. Don't you?"

"No!" said Dallas in disgust. "I don't kiss nobody!"

"Not even your mom?" asked Sodapop, baffled.

"No way, man! She's a mean old bitch!"

"Dallas!" scolded Mrs. Curtis and walked up to him. "I don't want that kind of language in my house and around my children." She covered Ponyboy's ears with both her hands and looked strictly at the blonde. It was easy to guess from the way Dallas acted that he had a hard time at home, so she wasn't going to tell him to behave towards his parents, but he was going to have to behave in her house. Just like everyone else.

Dallas looked at her for a second, his mouth pressed into a thin line. Then he pushed his chair back and headed for the door. "Whatever. I don't wanna be here anyway."

"I didn't tell you to leave, now did I?" she asked in a friendlier tone. She hadn't meant for him to leave. "You can come sit down again if you like, but I just want you to watch your tone when you're here."

"Yeah, come on, Dally," said Sodapop. "You can't leave now. You haven't even seen the x-rays yet. And you only had two cookies."

Dallas stopped and considered for a second. Then he turned around and went back to the table. "Yeah, alright. If it means that much to ya..."

Mrs. Curtis left to do some laundry. The boys munched on their cookies and studied Sodapop's cast with all the writing and drawings on it.

"Shoot. There's almost no more space," said Soda and thought hard about how to solve that problem. "Maybe I could break my other arm and I'd get a new cast!"

"I could help ya with that, if ya wanted," said Dallas and wiped his mouth. "Easy. I can think of many ways."

Ponyboy stared at Sodapop and Dallas in horror.

"B-but then they gotta put you in the hospital again," Johnny pointed out and was about to crawl down under the table when everyone was suddenly looking at him. "J-just saying..."

"Yeah... Yeah, you're right. I don't wanna go back there. It was crazy boring."

* * *

 **A/N:** To see Zayhad's illustration to the chapter go to deviantart dot com and look up Zayhad. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it.


	7. Not much else I Can Do

**A/N:** Some of you might have wondered about Dally, because in the book Pony tells us that he lived in New York and had his first arrest there at age ten. Well, we simply couldn't bring ourselves to exclude Dallas from our fic, so we were a bit creative: deciding that since Pony says nothing about where Dallas lived before he was arrested at ten in New York - so why not have him come from Tulsa, move to New York with his Mother, and then come back as a teenager? So that's how we managed this without breaking the sacred boundries of canon ;)

 **Chapter 7 – Not much else I Can Do**

A few years passed rather quickly and the boys had become as close as brothers. They spent almost every waking hour together.

One Saturday morning Mrs. Matthews dropped by with Keith, as she often did. This time, however, she brought her young daughter as well. "Hello," she said to Mrs. Curtis, putting on a strained cheerful smile. "Could you possibly look after Shirley while I go to work? My husband is busy today so he can't look after them and Keith really wanted to go here..."

Keith, who was usually in a good mood had a grim look on his face as he stood on the porch, holding his baby sister's hand.

"Well, of course," said Mrs. Curtis and smiled at the three-year-old. "Hello, Shirley."

The little girl looked up at her with a shy smile and started sucking on a thumb while holding onto her brother's hand.

Mrs. Matthews sighed. "Thank you. You're a life saver."

Keith walked past the adults and into the house to find the boys. Darry was trying to teach Sodapop how to play poker, something that took a good deal of patience, because Sodapop had a hard time focusing for long. They both looked up when Keith came in.

"Hi, Keith! Hey, your sister's here!" said Soda, spotting the girl still in the doorway.

"Yeah, I had to bring her today," Keith said and went to sit down next to them. "Can I join?"

The shy girl followed her brother and sat down quietly next to him.

"Sure," Darry said, sensing that something was not right. Usually Keith was in high spirits, so something was definitely off.

Soda smiled at the little girl. "Do you know how to play poker? I bet your brother taught ya."

She shook her head, smiling shyly.

"Oh, I bet he's just scared that if he teaches you you'll kick his butt!" Soda laughed.

"No one can kick my butt in poker," Keith said and picked up the cards that Darry handed him.

Darry gave Soda a new set of cards and took some himself. "Let's play for m&m's," he said and pulled out a bag of m&m's he had hid from Sodapop. He gave them each a small handful to gamble with and strictly forbade Soda to eat them.

Pony came into the living room, having heard the new voices. He said hi to Keith and Shirley and sat down next to Soda to watch.

"When you gonna teach Pony to play, Darry?" Keith asked.

"When he's older than six," Darry replied, keeping a careful watch on Soda so he didn't cheat.

Soda had forgotten half the rules, but he just kept chipping in as the bids got higher, hoping they wouldn't call his bluff. Before long, it was just him and Darry left and Soda had bet his whole batch of m&m's.

Darry peeped over his cards at Soda and raised an eyebrow at him, trying to guess if he was bluffing or not. He would lose a whole lot of m&m's if he was wrong. Darry decided to try his luck and put down his cards. "Beat this, little buddy."

Soda looked at the cards and then grinned. "I got a Royal Flush!"

Darry looked at Soda's cards. "No, you don't - you don't even have a King!"

"Well - you didn't tell me there was supposed to be a King."

"Yes, I did," Darry said and crossed his arms.

"So who gets all the m&m's?" Keith asked as if it was the only thing that mattered.

"Well I do," Darry said but then looked at the other kids. "But we can all share." He then started to divide the bunch between the five of them, making sure everyone got an equal share.

Soda stuffed all of his m&m's into his mouth at once. Ponyboy laughed and ate a red one. "Darry... Could we go see if we can find Johnny?" he asked. He wasn't allowed to leave the house on his own yet.

 **o0o0o**

Dallas took a long drag from his unfiltered Kool and forced himself not to cough. He hadn't been smoking for long, but his lungs were starting to get used to it. He was leaning against a car wreck at the lot, glancing at Johnny, who was sitting on the hood.

Johnny was picking at a small hole in his jeans. His head was hurting and a large bruise had formed on his forehead but it was almost hidden behind his long bangs. He looked admiringly at the blonde. Johnny wasn't going to whine about the beating he had gotten. Especially not to Dally. Dally could take anything, so Johnny could as well. He wanted to be tuff too.

"You know that fat-headed kid from Keith's math class?" said Dallas and took another drag. "I smashed his fat head open on the desk. Last time he makes fun of my clothes."

Johnny forced a smile. He wasn't much for violence even though he admired Dallas. "Well… he shoulda known better than to make fun of you, Dal." Johnny couldn't help but stare a bit at the smoke in Dally's hand. It sure made him look tuff. Maybe Johnny should try too. Maybe he could ask Dally for one someday. Johnny's head suddenly snapped around as he heard someone calling, and he saw the Curtis brothers and Keith coming across the street.

"Hey Dal and Johnnycake," Keith grinned. His mood and changed from the grim expression he had had when he arriving at the Curtis' house.

"What're you guys up to?" asked Dallas, tossing his bud on the ground.

"Somethin' fun!" grinned Soda and jumped onto the hood of the car next to Johnny.

"Football?" offered Darry, his standard suggestion.

"If we're gonna play football we should go get Steve," said Sodapop.

Dallas jumped off the hood and started strolling in the direction of Steve's house, the others following.

Steve sat in the yard when they arrived. He looked a little moody but when seeing them, his face lit up and he jumped to his feet.

"Watcha doing out here, Randle?" asked Dallas. "The troll home?"

"Yeah, he works from home today," Steve mumbled and cast a look towards the house. "What are y'all up to?"

"We were gonna play some football on the lot and figured you might wanna join," Keith said.

"Do I ever," Steve nodded. "I just gotta tell my mom I'm going."

The screen door slammed behind Steve as he went inside to find his mother. Mr. Randle was there in a split second, glaring at his son. "What do ya think you're doing? I'm trying to work, you son of a bitch!"

"I'm just looking for Mom," Steve mumbled and clenched his fists. He was not in the mood to be yelled at for not doing anything wrong except walk into the house.

"What do you need her for? Why do you got to be such a mama's boy? I swear the bitch is spoiling you rotten."

"Don't call her that!" Steve spat and glared at his dad. He hated him so much and wished that his mother would just leave him and take Steve with her.

"I'll call her whatever the hell I want! She's my wife! I'm the man in the house!"

"You're an asshole, that's what you are," Steve spat, his eyes filled with hatred.

"What did you say?" Mr. Randle growled and grabbed Steve roughly by the collar and shoved him hard against the wall. "Say that again!" he dared him, his face inches away.

Steve cried out when his back hit the wall but then tried to hide the fact that he was a little scared. "I said –" he started but was interrupted by his mother who came running into the hallway with a laundry basket in her arms.

"Stop it!" she cried.

Mr. Randle's head snapped around, but he didn't let go of Steve. "Stay outta this, woman! I'm trying to discipline my son!"

"He's just a child," she pleaded. "He didn't mean what he said... right Steve?"

"I did too! He's an asshole that don't treat us no good!" Steve said.

Livid, Mr. Randle punched the boy in the face. It wasn't often he used fists. He would slap him and spank him on occasion, like most parents in the neighborhood, but apart from that, his abuse was mostly verbal.

Mrs. Randle screamed and rushed over to her son who had slid down the wall and was holding a hand to his face. "Why would you do such a thing?" she cried, looking accusingly up at her husband. "He's just a boy!"

"Well, it's too late to teach him anything when he's an adult, ain't it?" said Mr. Randle.

Outside, they could hear that there was a row going on. When they heard Steve cry out Dallas started marching up the garden path, but a strong hand grabbed his arm from behind. "Best not get involved," Darry said, hating that they couldn't do anything. "All you're gonna do is get Steve in more trouble. You know how it is..."

Steve got to his feet and stormed out of the house, not saying another word to either of his parents. The others could see he had been punched because he had a swollen lip.

"Is... is your Mom gonna be okay?" asked Soda as they followed Steve into the street.

"I guess so," Steve said, struggling to hold tears back. "He don't beat on her."

They didn't ask any more questions. They knew Steve didn't like to talk about it. When they reached the lot, Ponyboy sprinted across the street to get the football from the house.

"Damn, that kid's fast," grinned Dallas.

"Yeah, he'll make a great football player," Darry said proudly. He had big plans for his younger brother.

When Ponyboy got back they divided up the teams. Johnny and Pony played with Darry, who was the strongest and best player by far, and the remaining four on the other team.

"How we gonna get Superman down?" Keith asked his teammates.

"We just jump him," said Soda, who didn't care to stand and discuss tactics. He wanted to get on with the game.

"Sounds fine by me," Steve nodded. "Let's get this game started!" he yelled to Darry who was instructing the two smaller boys as if they didn't know how to play football.

"We're gonna win!" Keith said and flexed.

"We'll see," Darry grinned. "I have some really good teammates here."

Darry caught the ball and threw it to Ponyboy. "Run, Pony!" he yelled and watched the six-year-old run as fast as he could towards the goal with Sodapop right on his heels.

"Get him, Soda!" Steve called.

Sodapop could have reached Pony just in the nick of time, but he didn't have the heart to ruin his big moment, so he held back the last boost of energy and let Pony reach the goalposts and slam down the ball. Darry and Johnny jumped around, cheering at Pony who looked like the happiest kid in the world.

"Man you could've gotten him if you put more energy into it," Steve said with a sulk. He knew that Soda probably had let Pony win and he was tired of him always getting special treatment from Sodapop.

"Well, if I'd had just another yard or two I woulda had him," said Sodapop cheerfully.

Mrs. Curtis walked across the street to the lot to tell the boys that lunch was ready. She smiled to herself, watching the seven mosh about in the dirt, fighting over the ball. They were all dirty, and to no surprise Soda the most. His hair was so full of dust you couldn't tell that he was actually blond. "I got something for you boys!"

The boys hurried over to her, Ponyboy holding Sodapop's hand and looking utterly happy with a huge smile on his face and dust all over.

Johnny kept his head down, not wanting to show her the large bruise on his forehead. He usually tried to explain what had happened by lying. He didn't like it when she got that sad expression on her face.

"What are we having?" Keith asked.

"Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches," said Mrs. Curtis.

Shirley, who had been holding Mrs. Curtis' hand, ran over to Keith and wrapped her arms around his legs, looking up at the boy, who was already almost as tall as Mrs. Curtis. "When is Daddy coming home?"

Keith looked down at her and gulped. He had almost forgotten about what had happened. "I dunno," he said. He then noticed everyone looking at him. "What?" he mumbled and picked up his little sister.

 **o0o0o**

When Mrs. Matthews came by after work, Mrs. Curtis asked her to stay for a cup of coffee and sent the boys and Shirley outside to play. "Phyllis," she said as she poured her friend a cup. "What's happening?"

"What makes you think anything happened?" Mrs. Matthews asked and took a sip of the coffee.

"Oh, come on," said Mrs. Curtis and put a hand on top of the other woman's. "You can tell me."

Mrs. Matthews bit her lip and stared down at the cup of coffee in her hand. "My husband hasn't been home for a few days…" she sighed and put the cup down. "I think… I think he left us." She tried desperately to keep her voice steady but it was close to breaking.

"He did? That..." Mrs. Curtis resisted calling the man a very unflattering name, "How can a husband and father just abandon his family? Oh, he doesn't deserve you!"

"Probably not," she mumbled. "But I really need him. How am I supposed to raise two kids on my own? I thought he loved us. His son and his daughter…" I am just so mad at him! Shirley keeps asking when her dad is coming home and Keith is very moody. I think that's my fault because I sit and cry sometimes and he's noticed even though I try to hide it."

"Just be honest with him," said Mrs. Curtis. "He knows what's going on. And he's a good and strong boy. He'll soon be old enough to look after Shirley when you're not there. And I'll always be here."

Outside, Keith was telling Darry about the situation while Soda and Pony were pushing Shirley on the swing.

"Man, that really sucks..." Darry said and kicked a small rock. "So now what?"

Keith shrugged. "Gonna have to look after my mom and sister, I guess. Not much else I can do."

 **o0o0o**

"Can I ride him?" asked Sodapop, looking expectantly up at the old cowboy.

"Think I wanna call and tell your parents to come pick up the pieces of you?" the man chuckled. "No, an eight-year-old shouldn't be the first one to ride a feisty young horse like this. You go saddle old Sylvester instead."

Sodapop sighed and watched the brown colt running around the pen, tossing its head and stamping the ground. He liked the pony, Sylvester, but he would really like to ride the more lively horses. One day soon, hopefully, Mr. Williams would let him.

Darry leaned in over the fence and watched his little brother ride around on the old pony that mostly looked like it just wanted to go back to the stables and eat hay. "You gotta put more work on him, Soda, or he's gonna fall asleep," he laughed. Darry was the one who usually took Soda to the stables. He didn't mind. He liked the fresh air and if Soda could get burn off some energy, that was good for everyone.

"I don't wanna get rough on him," said Soda. "Man, I wish Mr. Williams would let me help break in the colts... I'd be just as good as any of the grownups. I'm quick and agile."

"And you're eight years old, little buddy. Did you forget that part?" Darry pointed out. "They are grownups and know what they're doing. You only just started riding three months ago."

"Well, I'm a fast learner! And Dally says the secrete to being a good rider is to not be afraid. And I ain't." Dallas had been the one to first bring Soda to the ranch. He himself had started riding and helping Mr. Williams about a year ago.

"Well Dally's crazy." Darry turned his head and spotted the colt running around still tossing its head and bucking.

"I'm gonna ride in the rodeos soon," said Soda determinedly and kicked Sylvester into a reluctant canter.

"Sure you are, buddy. Sure you are. I bet Mom's gonna be thrilled to hear that."

 **o0o0o**

Ponyboy sat in his room with Johnny. They spent as much time together as Soda and Steve. Ponyboy wished they were in the same year. It would be fun to share classes like Soda and Steve did.

Johnny had brought over his homework since he didn't like to do it at home. He had already had to pay for one new book to the school because his mother had ripped it up while being drunk. He hadn't been much home the last week. Mostly he had been sleeping at the lot and the days he hadn't, it was because Mrs. Curtis had gone over to get him when she had spotted him light a fire, so he sometimes didn't. He felt bad for taking up space. "I'm stupid," he mumbled. "I dunno how to do this assignment."

"Don't say that," said Ponyboy. He hated when Johnny called himself stupid. He also hated when Soda did it. Even though Soda didn't seem to be bothered about it like Johnny was.

"But it's true," Johnny mumbled and put the book down. "All them letters are just a blur to me. I don't understand half of what they mean." He scratched his neck and sighed. He really felt stupid and he had a feeling the teachers agreed.

"You just need more practice." Ponyboy was in first grade and Johnny the third, but Pony was already a better reader than Johnny. Of course he was also a better reader than anyone else in his class. He had known the whole alphabet at five, and Darry had taught him some of the simpler words before he even started school. Ponyboy already loved reading and writing.

"I wouldn't even be able to spell my name if it wasn't for you and your mom," Johnny sighed.

Soda and Darry came home an hour later, Soda with mud on his clothes and face, grinning. He didn't make it far into the house before Mrs. Curtis stopped him.

"You're going straight for a shower, young man," she ordered and ushered him towards the bathroom.

Darry dropped down on the couch and watched his younger brother being forced into the bathroom and he tried to hold back a laugh.

"Mom, I'm hungry! Can't it wait till after dinner? I'll just brush the worst of it off," protested Sodapop

"And have you mess the entire house that I just cleaned? Oh no, you don't," she said and pulled the muddy shirt over his head and turned on the shower for him. "You clean yourself up and then you can play with the others afterwards."

* * *

 **A/N:** To see Zayhad's illustration to the chapter go to deviantart dot com and look up Zayhad. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it.


	8. Dally, That's Enough

**Chapter 8 – Dally, That's Enough**

Dallas was having a bad day. Already in first recess he was causing trouble. One of the rich kids had made the mistake of talking about white trash while looking in Dallas' and Keith's direction. The other boys had rushed over to see what was going on and found Dally sitting on the boy's back, jamming his face into the dirt.

"Dally, that's enough," Darry said. He knew the kid probably deserved what he got but it would get Dally in even more trouble.

"He started it!" Keith spat, wanting to jump down onto the kid's back as well but Dally took up all the space.

Dallas ignored Darry and rubbed the squealing kid's face thoroughly against the ground.

"Get off him, you psycho!" said one of the older rich kids and kicked Dallas in the ribs.

Dallas growled at him but didn't get up to go after him because he wasn't done with the one he was sitting on. Steve, however, flew at the boy and knocked him off his feet. Johnny quickly moved out of the way as more of the rich kids approached, yelling and cursing at them.

"Y'all want trouble?" Keith grinned. "You're gonna get you fancy clothes dirty!"

Before the fight had a chance to escalate into a rumble several teachers came rushing over and broke it off. They were yelling at the participants and sent Dallas, Steve, and Keith to the principal's office along with the two of the rich kids involved.

At next recess they all met up. "Too bad them teachers broke it off," Steve sulked. "I would've loved to give them a good eastside whoopin'"

Johnny felt a little ashamed that he hadn't jumped in to help, but he really wasn't much of a fighter. He would have to ask Dally for some advice later on.

"Did you hear a bunch of them jumped Curly Shepard the other day?" said Sodapop and took a bite of his sandwich.

"God help 'em when Tim gets a hold of them," said Dallas, smirking at the thought.

"What the hell is a seven-year-old running around on his own for, anyway?" asked Steve.

"Kinda cowardly to jump a seven-year-old, even though the kid's tough as hell," said Keith. "I hope Tim invites us to join in on the fun. I like a good rumble. Y'all in if he asks?" Everybody nodded. Even Darry and Johnny.

"You're not going, Pony," Darry ordered, eying the six-year-old. He knew Ponyboy only agreed to go because everyone else did.

Ponyboy stuck his lower lip out. "I'm in school now - I'm not a little boy no more!"

"You just started, and Mom's gonna ground me if I bring you to a fight."

"But ya'll's going!" protested Ponyboy. He actually didn't want to fight anybody, but being left out when all the others went to fight was even worse. He was always the child compared to the others. Johnny, of course, was close to Pony in size and maturity but was still two year older, and nobody told him he couldn't go.

"Well, we ain't bringing a little kid," Steve stated and crossed his arms.

"H-he can help me with one?" Johnny suggested.

Sodapop exchanged looks with Darry. He didn't like to bring little Ponyboy to a fight either, but he also didn't like to make him feel like an outsider. He liked it best when Darry took on the leader role in cases such as this.

Darry scratched his neck and looked at the two small boys. Maybe it was a better idea to just forbid both of them to go (Johnny would do what Darry told him) but he also knew they would feel like they weren't part of the little gang. "Alright but don't tell Mom, and stay close to me."

 **o0o0o**

Dallas and Darry found Tim at lunch break. "So your little brother got jumped, huh?" asked Dallas

Tim lit a smoke and nodded. "Yeah," he growled, his piecing eyes scanning each of them. "What's it to you?"

"Just curious about what ya gonna do 'bout it? Cause if you're gonna kick their asses me and my buds want a piece as well."

Tim's eyebrows shot up and a wide grin spread on his lips. "And what's in it for you?"

"The pleasure of setting some rich kids straight," Darry said and crossed his arms.

Tim tilted his head and studied them for a moment. "Alright. I guess the more the merrier." He blew a cloud of smoke towards them.

"So when?" asked Dallas eagerly.

Tim jumped down from the table he was sitting on. Does after school work for ya? I know the route they take home so we just jump 'em on the way."

"Hang on a second," said Darry. "How many are there?"

"What the fuck's that matter?" said Dallas.

"I ain't gonna outnumber them, Dal," Darry said.

"You think they cared that they outnumbered my brother?" Tim hissed and threw his bud on the ground, stepping on it aggressively.

"Yeah, who fucking cares?" agreed Dallas. "They just need a good whoopin', that's all that matters."

Darry bit his lip. He really didn't want to jump three or four kids when they were at least eight. "I don't agree with jumping them if we're outnumbering, but I'll tag along," he agreed. Then he would at least be able to keep his brothers safe.

Dallas bummed a cigarette off Tim and lit it. "You bringing Curly?"

"Of course," Tim grinned. "He's gonna have a taste of the action. Might as well learn from a young age. Needs to be tough like his big brother."

"Yeah. I'd bring him too if I had a little brother," said Dallas. "Ain't ever gonna happen, though. My folks hate each other too much to get it on. I think they only did it once..."

"Don't you have that mute kid hanging around your leg all day long?" Tim pointed out. "That's kinda like a little brother. Bet he thinks everything you do is tuff."

"Yeah, he does," grinned Dallas. He took a long drag of his cigarette and flicked the ash on the floor. "Johnny's cool. He's a tough kid."

"Sure don't look it," Tim said. "Mostly looks like a six-year-old. That Pony kid looks older."

Dallas narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Johnny's a great kid. He's just small for his age. Size don't mean nuffin'. Show me a guy twice my size and I'll send him home to his mama crying!"

Tim just grinned. "Yup - you act like a big brother. Superman there knows what I mean."

Darry raised his eyebrows. "You gotta look out for your family," he said. "Ain't nobody else gonna do it."

Dallas dropped his cigarette bud and stumped it out with his foot.

"Hey! You there! What do you think you're doing?" sounded an angry voice

The three boys turned their heads and spotted a teacher coming towards them. Darry quickly put his hands on his back and tilted back and forth, trying to act innocent.

"Are you boys smoking?"

"What if we are?" said Tim and spat on the ground.

"Don't give me that tone, Shepard!"

"We ain't smoking. Look - just snuffed it," said Dallas and stepped away from the cigarette he had just stepped on, leaving a black smudge on the floor.

"You _were_ smoking," the teacher said and crossed his arms, tapping his foot. "I don't wanna see this behavior inside. Mostly I would not like you to smoke at all but that's for your parents to teach you. So smoke outside from now on or I'll drag you to the principal's office"

"Why don't you go home and suck your mother's dick?" suggested Dallas

The teacher's eyes narrowed and he grabbed a hold on Dally's upper arm. "That's it Winston! Off you go!"

"Good one, Dally," Tim laughed as Dallas was dragged off.

The others looked up when Darry came back. "Where's Dal?" asked Sodapop.

"He got himself in trouble with Mr. Lamarck again," Darry sighed and sat down at the table.

"Is... is he gonna get detention?" Johnny asked and looked nervous. He was definitely not keen on going to a fight without Dallas.

"I bet he is," said Soda. "What did you find out about a fight?"

"Well, Tim wants to fight after school but he wants to gang up on like four boys and I ain't really up for that."

"Didn't they gang up on his brother?" Keith pointed out. "So it's just payback, and besides we have two little kids with us. They only count as one."

Darry sighed and scratched his neck. "I guess so... but I still think it's unfair."

"That makes eight of us if we count Johnny and Pony as one," said Sodapop. "And what about Dal? Is he even gonna be done with his detention in time? Not that we need him if we're so many, but he's gonna be pissed if he misses out on the action. You know what he says: No rumble without Dallas Winston."

"I... I don't wanna fight if he ain't there," Johnny said. "I mean... because he will be real mad if we do..."

"Dally's probably gonna ditch that detention, anyways," Keith said. "Not even Mr. Lamarck can keep him from a fight against them rich kids."

 **o0o0o**

And Dallas did exactly that. It was probably going to earn him a whole week's detention, but it was worth it. He was completely hyped up when they met after the last class, jogging on the spot and repeatedly hammering his fist into his palm

"Easy, Dal" Darry said. "You look like a horse before a race."

"Let's go, already! Where's Tim and Curly?" Steve asked.

Tim and Curly joined them a few minutes later. "Hey boys!" Tim grinned and swung an arm around his younger brother's shoulder. "Time for payback!"

Pony and Johnny stood close together. Pony was very nervous but at the same time excited. It was the first time his brothers had allowed him to join in a rumble.

"You two," said Soda, pulling Johnny and Pony a bit aside. "Stay close to me or Darry, okay? And each other. Work on the same guy."

"Right," Tim said. "Let's get 'em!"

To Darry's relief there were seven rich boys walking together. They were only outnumbering them by two, and none of theirs were younger than nine.

"Hey!" Tim called and made the boys turn around to look at them. "We got a few things we wanna settle with you dumb shits!"

The boys looked a little startled at first but then laughed. "You and what army? You can't mean half a kindergarten?"

Dallas didn't waste any time on the game of taunting each other - he walked straight up to the boy who had spoken and punched him in the stomach. Tim laughed and followed Dallas' example, attacking the boy closest to him.

Ponyboy and Johnny stood frozen staring at their friends now all engaged in the fight. It wasn't until they saw two boys ganging up on Sodapop that they sprang into action. They exchanged looks and simultaneously jumped the biggest of the boys from behind. Johnny latched on to his hair trying to pull him away from Soda and Pony stared pummeling his back with his small fists. The boy screamed, probably mostly due to being pulled in the hair, and swung his arm around, trying to hit the boys behind him. Johnny held onto the hair tightly. The boy's hand hit Pony's face and grabbed it, his fingers digging into Pony's cheeks. Pony let out a surprised shriek and then bit into the hand. The taller boy cried out in pain and shoved Pony back with such force that the little boy scurried along the asphalt on his behind. He then finally managed to grab a hold on Johnny and threw him down as well. He landed next to Ponyboy and the two boys looked up at the tall boy, terrified. Before he got a change to attack them, however, Darry stepped in front of him, shielding the boys on the ground.

"What? You their bodyguard?" the boy asked, trying to sound haughty, although Darry looked dangerous.

"No, I'm his brother!" Darry said, and sent the boy reeling back with a powerful punch to the face.

It didn't take long before the rich boys took off, running as fast as they could. Dallas and Tim yelled in triumph and threw a few rocks after them.

"Guess you'll think twice about jumping any of us again!" Tim yelled after them. He then turned to the others. "Nice fighting. We should do this again." He high-fived Dally. "I got your back, man," he said. "So now what? Wanna go bum some beer of Buck?"

Johnny's eyes widened. Tim couldn't be much older than Dally and he was just nine.

"Sure," grinned Keith.

Darry pulled Soda and Ponyboy to the side. "Best not be going there or mom will get really upset. Buck is bad news and I ain't letting you two drink beer. It was bad enough to let you fight."

Sodapop was a bit disappointed. Not because he wanted beer, but he hated to miss out on anything and he had never been at Buck's before.

"We're going home," Darry told Dallas and Keith. When you're done at Bucks you can come by unless you're drunk. You know Mom's gonna skin you if you are."

Tim looked like he was going to say something about their mother but stopped himself, perhaps deciding it wasn't the smartest move to insult the strong pre-teen. "Why you gonna chicken out, Curtis?" he settled with.

"Because I ain't bringing my six-year-old brother to that hole and let him drink beer."

"He got Cokes too. Come on, man."

The Curtises would never allow their boys to drink beer until they were much older. They knew they would be tempted, though, because most kids in the neighborhood drank at an early age. Either their parents didn't care or they couldn't control their kids.

"I said no," Darry said and crossed his arms.

"C'mon, Johnny," said Soda and wrapped an arm around him shoulder as they turned to leave. "We'll go watch the late afternoon show." He knew Johnny didn't like to be around with the others when they were drinking. He saw enough drunkenness at home.

Johnny smiled gratefully up at him.

"So you wanna drop by the house first or just go straight to the drive-in?" asked Sodapop.

"Probably best to go tell Mom where we're going. Although…" He looked at Soda who had a few bruises and Pony had a bruise on his face as well. "We better make up an explanation before we get there."

Soda wasn't a problem - he came home with bruises and cuts every other day, having played rough, so their parents were used to that.

"Pony, we'll just say I was giving you a piggy-back ride and I fell," said Soda. That was rather believable too.

Johnny already had bruises from back home, and you couldn't tell which ones were from there or the fight.

 **o0o0o**

"How was your day?" Mrs. Curtis smiled as they walked in. Then she noticed the bruise on Pony's face. "What happened?"

"We were playing horse and Soda fell with me," said Ponyboy. "He was running too fast."

"Sodapop," she said and shook her head, resting her hands on her hips. "You know better than to play so rough with your little brother." She took a gentle hold on Pony's chin and studied his face for a moment. "Well it doesn't look too bad..."

"A few bruises never killed nobody," said Sodapop cheerfully.

"That's true, honey," she smiled and her eyes fell on Johnny who stood and fumbled with the hem of his shirt. She sent him a caring smile and studied his bruised face, feeling both sad and angry. She went over to him and gently took a hold on his chin, making him look up at her. "Rough day at home?"

Johnny just nodded, averting his eyes.

"Tell you what... why don't you stay the night? Take a shower and get some food? You know you can always come here."

 **o0o0o**

Dallas went home a couple of hours later. He stopped at the front door as he heard raised voices from inside.

"What about the damned kid? If you're leaving, you're taking him with you! I ain't needing him hanging around my leg!"

"I might as well!" sounded Dallas' mother's voice. "We'll be much better off in New York than this fucked up house!"

"Shut your mouth, woman!" roared Mr. Winston. "You don't give a shit about the kid no more than me! You're just gonna try and run away in the dead of night, leaving him behind for me to be stuck with!"

It wasn't the first time they had fought about her thinking of leaving but this time it actually sounded like she meant it. Dallas felt a brief sting of hurt but quickly shook it off. What did he care? They were scum. Why should he care what they thought of him? He didn't. Not at all.

 **o0o0o**

Mrs. Curtis was not surprised to see Dally walk through the door a little later, but he seemed more grim than usual, and she studied him for a moment as she told him to sit down for something to eat. It was not unlike Dallas to be in a bad mood, but it was accompanied by being loud and foul-mouthed. Today he just sat in a sulk.

"Are you okay?" she asked and put the plate in front of him.

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm always okay," said Dallas and stabbed a piece of chicken with his fork. "Ain't nuffin' I can't handle."

"You know you can talk to me, Dallas," Mrs. Curtis said and ruffled his hair. When Dallas and just started eating, she leaned against the counter and watched him for a moment. "Are you staying the night? Johnny is too, so we can put out a mattress for you in the living room."

Dallas shrugged. "If you want..."

"Good," she smiled, knowing that was about the only answer she would get out of him.

Johnny was already asleep on the coach. Whenever he would agree to stay he would fall asleep rather quickly. Mrs. Curtis guessed it was the soft couch that did the trick since he was used to sleeping on either the ground or a worn out car seat.

"We fixed you a bed," she told Dally a good five minutes later.

"I ain't tired yet," mumbled Dallas and wished he could light a cigarette, but the Curtises did not allow them to smoke in the house. Mr. Curtis smoked, but they both agreed that smoking was not for kids, and although they could only forbid their own sons to smoke, they would not tolerate the other boys smoking in their house. They were hoping to influence the boys, but it didn't seem to be working well. Both Keith and Dallas smoked, and Steve had tried a couple of times, although not in front of the Curtises.

"Well just for whenever you're tired," she nodded and went back into the living room. It was clear to her that something was bothering Dallas but she had learned by now that if she pushed him he would just throw a fit and leave the house, ending up God knows were so it was best to just leave him be.

"Hey, Dal," Darry said as he walked into the kitchen to get a glass of milk. "Didn't know you were here." He took a glass and sat down across from him and poured the milk.

"Well, your mom asked me to stay and who am I to refuse a lady?" Dallas said, striking up a grin.

"Yeah you know she won't lay off until you agree," Darry grinned. "Glad you're staying, though." The one after Johnny who spend most time on the street was Dallas and Mrs. Curtis always worried about the two.

"Wanna play a game of poker?" Dallas asked. "Pepsi cola already in bed?"

"Mom is making him do homework," Darry said and went to get the cards. "He can join us when he's done. Johnny's asleep, though, and so is Pony. That rumble took a lot out of 'em..."

"Yeah," grinned Dally, his mood lighting up at the memory of the fight. "But _they're_ hurting a lot more. Bet they went home to their mommies, blubbing like babies."

"Serves them right for jumping a seven-year-old." Darry dealt the cards. "Was a good fight though. Probably won't be the last time we gang up with Shepard."

"He's a horse's ass, but he's okay fighting with," said Dallas and played the first card.

"Guess you're right," Darry grinned. "You two have a funny friendship. Fighting like enemies one day and fighting alongside the next. Guess when it comes down to it you got each other's back in fights against a common enemy."

"Well, there ain't no enemy worse than them damn rich kids. They think they're so tuff and own the fucking town," said Dallas bitterly.

"Yeah. Just because they were born on the right side of town it makes them think they're better..." Darry actually got along with a few of them pretty well, but he wasn't one to start discussing with Dally about some of them being different. A when it all came down to it he was pretty sure the only ones that really had his back when it counted was the kids he grew up with.

Sodapop snuck out of Darry's room where he had been placed to do his homework so he wouldn't keep Pony awake. He tiptoed through the end of the living room without being spotted and entered the kitchen. "Hi," he said with a grin. Whatcha doing?"

Darry turned in his seat and looked at the blonde who stood with his hands on his back and a wide grin on his face. "Playing poker," he answered and held up his cards. "You done with your homework?"

"Nope," grinned Soda. "Can I play?"

"Mom ain't gonna be happy that you snuck out," Darry mumbled but then gave in, as he usually did with Soda.

They played for ten minutes until Mrs. Curtis came into the kitchen. She stopped abruptly upon spotting Sodapop. "Are you already finished with your homework?" she asked skeptically.

"Yes," lied Sodapop.

Darry tried to suppress a snigger.

"Well, then let me see your books," she said and rested her hands on her hips, clearly not believing him.

"Ugh, Mom, I packed them away and everything. It's a whole lotta bother to pack 'em all out again!" groaned Sodapop and snuck a card into his sock.

"I don't wanna hear it, young man. You're way behind on your homework and your grades should be better."

"I don't care about grades. I'm gonna be a cowboy, and the ponies don't care if I got grades."

"Well _I_ care. And your father and your brothers."

"I'll help him when we're done playing," Darry offered. He felt a little sorry for his brother, knowing how he hated to do homework.

Mrs. Curtis shook her head. "You're spoiling him. Well, all right. But you start in fifteen minutes. It's Soda's bedtime at nine."

Darry nodded and turned to his brother as their mother left. "You owe me big time, Pepsi cola."

"Thanks," grinned Soda. "Listen, can't we just pretend to do it? I can't concentrate anymore so it's a waste of time anyway."

"When's it due?" Darry asked. "And how much is it, because we can do 'em tomorrow if it ain't for tomorrow."

"Um... Well, it's for tomorrow, but it ain't something important, Darry."

"Just let 'im be, Superman, will ya?" said Dallas. "School don't matter, anyway. It won't teach ya nuffin' about surviving in the real world. And let's get moving with this game!"

"Well, Mom's gonna have my head if we don't do it, so we better," he sighed. To be honest he wasn't up for helping Soda right now. Especially when he was not focused. He turned to Dally and played a card.

Sodapop pulled the card from his sock but dropped it on its way up to the table. He sent the other two a sheepish grin, hoping they would go easy on him.

Darry and Dally looked at him for a moment and then at each other before grinning and jumping Soda. Darry pinned him down and started tickling him. "You're cheating, kid brother! Extra homework for you!"

Soda squealed. "NOOO! NOT THAT! Beat me up instead!"

Two seconds later both parents stood in the doorway along with Johnny who rubbed his eye tiredly.

"Boys!" Mrs. Curtis said in a strict tone and sent them a stern look, making Darry get off Soda. "Well, get working on that homework now!" she said. "And then it's off to bed in half an hour."

* * *

 **A/N:** To see Zayhad's illustration to the chapter go to deviantart dot com and look up Zayhad. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it.


	9. Ain't Nuffin' too Hard to Steal

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay - I had a bad migraine yesterday and all I could do was lie in bed with a wet cloth on my forehead.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9 – Ain't Nuffin' too Hard to Steal**

One day after school the gang swung by the drug store for some Cokes. Soda glanced at Keith, who was strolling the aisles casually. Keith looked over his shoulder and then stuck a couple of chocolate bars into his pocket. Whistling, he walked a little further and took some Cokes and handed them to Johnny. "Take those to the counter will ya, Johnny?" he grinned and patted his head like he was a dog.

Darry sent Keith a reproachful look and fished out some change from his pocket to pay for the sodas. They all knew Keith stole everything he could get his hands on; he had been doing so for as long as Soda could remember. But they didn't say anything. They all had each other's backs, no matter what. Steve would steal on occasion as well, and Dally did just about everything illegal.

As they walked out of the store and got a bit further away, Keith took out the bars and handed one to Ponyboy. "A late birthday present," he grinned and ruffled his hair before pulling out a smoke and lighting it. He then threw the pack to Dallas and they all went to sit down on an old car, enjoying the Cokes.

"Too bad those are harder to steal," Steve said, looking at his bottle.

Dallas snorted. "Ain't nuffin' too hard to steal. I could steal whatever I want."

"Yeah?" laughed Sodapop. "You could steal a car? I'd like to see you try. You can't even drive!"

Ponyboy looked nervously from his brother to Dallas. Sodapop wasn't afraid of anything and he would laugh and say things to Dally that few dared.

"Shut your face, Curtis!" growled Dallas, whose sense of humor didn't extend to himself. "Of course I can drive," he continued in a calmer tone. "How hard can it be?"

"Yeah," Steve nodded. "Buck can drive, so it really can't be that hard."

Johnny gulped. It was never a good idea to dare Dally unless you really meant for him to do it.

"Yeah," Dallas laughed. "If Buck can drive, so could a monkey."

"Alright then," Keith said. "Prove it!"

"Alright," said Dally, raising an eyebrow. "See ya guys later." Then he flicked his cigarette bud in Keith's direction and headed down the street.

"You really think he's gonna do it?" asked Sodapop the others.

"Nah," Keith said and lit another cigarette, tossing the match on the ground. "He's gonna make up some excuse why it didn't work out. No way he'll be able to steal a car and even drive it."

"But..." Johnny started. "Dal always gets what he wants..." He gulped and looked down as everyone suddenly looked at him.

"He wants a nice family too, don't he?" said Sodapop. "And that ain't happening..."

Ponyboy wasn't sure. Dally always said he didn't care about his parents.

Johnny dug his hands into his pockets. "I just meant that he might actually steal a car," he mumbled.

"Well, I won't believe it until I see it," Steve said and crossed his arms.

They hung out an hour more and when there, to nobody's surprise except Johnny's, was still no sign of Dallas they headed down the street towards the Curtis house.

"Told ya he wouldn't get one," Keith grinned. "Only car he'll be riding is a police car when he gets picked up for trying to steal some car."

Just as they reached the Curtis house a rusty old Ford came roaring down the street and came to a screeching halt at the curb. At first it looked like there was no driver, but then Sodapop spotted Dallas' blond mop sticking up from behind the steering wheel.

The boys stood watching with their jaws dropped as they realized that Dally had in fact stolen a car.

"Are you nuts?" Darry said and looked around. "Where the hell did you get this?"

Dally grinned. "From Buck. Idiot didn't lock it. Well, whatcha waiting for? Get in!"

Soda was already inside the car and Keith, Steve, and Johnny followed suit. Ponyboy stepped forward but a hand grabbed him by the upper arm and jerked him back.

Darry shook his head and ordered his other brother out of the car. "Nope - ain't gonna happen, Dally. If ya wanna drive around town like a lunatic then be my guest, but we ain't getting in. Mom and dad would kill us!"

"What's going on here? Who are you getting into a car with?" sounded Mrs. Curtis' voice. She stopped abruptly when she spotted Dallas in the driver's seat. "DALLAS! What are you _doing_? You're not driving, are you?"

"No, ma'am," grinned Dallas. "Right now I'm parked."

"Get out of that car this instant!" she ordered and Johnny quickly crawled back out of the car, hanging his head like a kicked puppy. Keith crawled out as well, knowing very well that she would tell his mother if he didn't, and she had enough worries. Steve however remained seated.

"Steve," said Soda. "C'mon, man. We can go play some poker instead."

"Well - I'm taking this baby for a ride," said Dallas," padding the steering wheel. "You comin' or not, Randle?"

"You are driving nowhere, young man!" said Mrs. Curtis, fixing Steve with flaring eyes.

Steve looked from Dally to Sodapop. He wanted to go with Dallas and maybe even get to drive the car but he didn't like the consequences. He didn't care what his parents said, but he had to admit he cared what Mrs. Curtis had to say so he crawled back out of the car. "Come on Dal," he said. "Was fun as long as it lasted..."

"Dallas -" repeated Mrs. Curtis. "You're coming too."

Dallas sighed. "Alright, man. If it means that much to ya."

"And where did you get the car?"

"I borrowed it."

"And who did you borrow it from?" Mrs. Curtis, of course, knew that Dallas had stolen it.

"Buck Merrill."

"Well, call this Mr. Merrill and tell him he can come pick it up, then."

"Um... I don't have his number." said Dallas and scratched his chin.

Mrs. Curtis sighed and took the keys from Dally. "Well, Darrel is coming home in half an hour so the two of you can drive it back to where you took it, young man." Dally was the only one who still stood with his head held high. The rest of the boys were looking down at their feet.

They all trudged into the Curtis house and threw themselves on the beds and chairs of Sodapop and Ponyboy's bedroom.

"Well, that was disappointing," Steve mumbled and leaned back against the wall. "I sure would have liked to take that old pile of junk for a test-drive."

"When I get old enough I'm gonna get my own car," Keith said. "Didn't seem too hard to drive, was it Dal?"

"Well, not to me, but I wouldn't get in a car with you, Matthews," said Dallas. "I kinda like to live."

"Hey, I bet I'm a better driver than you. And I'm actually tall enough to look over the steering wheel."

"Well, Soda's mom just took the only car we had," Steve said.

"We probably would've wrecked it," Darry said. "We ain't supposed to be driving yet and for good reason. I'll be old enough soon, though," he added and puffed out his chest.

Sodapop was disappointed. Now he had gotten the idea about driving and seen Dallas, who was only a year older than himself, do it, it didn't seem so far-fetched. He would have to wait for another chance, though, when Dallas did it again or maybe Keith. He was even older and taller, and a great thief.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Steve said and got up from the bed. "You said something about poker?"

"Sounds like a plan," Darry nodded and turned to Soda. "But no cheating or you'll be doing your homework alone."

The gang laughed when seeing Soda's sheepish expression and Darry went to fetch the cards.

 **o0o0o**

Mrs. Curtis met her husband in the door and dangled the car keys in front of him. "Honey, would you mind driving that Ford over to Buck Merrill's place?"

Mr. Curtis raised his eyebrows and put down his bag. "How did it get here?" he asked and took the keys.

"Dallas."

"Dallas stole it? I swear to you, Maggie, that boy's getting out of control." He sighed. "Well, I guess I'll return it."

"Yes, he is getting out of control," said Mrs. Curtis. "But can we honestly say we're surprised?"

"No..." said Mr. Curtis. "We do all we can and there ain't much else we can do. Let's just hope our boys don't think it's cool what he's doing."

"Sodapop did. He was already in the car when I caught them."

"I guess we have to sit him down and remind him what's wrong and what's right," Mr. Curtis said. He then leaned over and gave his wife a kiss before getting into the car.

A moment later, Johnny stood in the doorway and fumbled with his jacket. "Um… Mrs. Curtis?" he mumbled and looked down at his shoes. "P-please don't be mad." Johnny really hated when people were mad at him.

"Mad?" she said, puzzled. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because I had got into the car with Dal. And, um… please don't be mad at the others either. We just... just had a little fun and nothing bad happened..."

"I know _you_ ain't to blame, honey. Although maybe you should be more critical of what Dallas does. Crime is not the way to go."

Johnny looked down. Even though Dallas didn't care that Mrs. Curtis was mad at him, Johnny felt bad for him. "Can I stay here tonight? It's really cold and my mom and dad ain't in the best mood."

"Of course you can," she smiled and gave him a hug. "You know you can always stay over, and I don't like it when you sleep at that lot."

Johnny sent her a smile and went into the house to find the others. He stepped into Pony and Sodapop's room finding Soda and Steve jumping like crazy on Soda's bed, trying to knock each other off by jumping into each other. The others were cheering and each had evidently bet on one of the contestants.

"Go, Steve!" yelled Dallas.

Steve jumped to the side as Soda came at him, making Soda jump face first into the wall. It almost made Steve fall off the bed, laughing so hard.

Johnny quietly sat down next to Ponyboy. "Who are you betting on, Johnny? I got Soda."

Johnny looked from one of them to the other. "Um... I... I wanna bet on Soda as well," he mumbled, seeing Steve was not so light on his feet as Soda was. "Is that alright?"

"Of course," Ponyboy smiled. "Soda's better than Steve, anyway. At everything."

"But doesn't Steve always win arm wrestling?" Johnny asked a little puzzled. Whenever he had seen the two arm-wrestle Steve had won. Soda had won once by using two hands but Johnny wasn't sure that counted.

"Soda lets him win," said Ponyboy confidently. "The only kid who's stronger than Soda is Darry."

"That's because Darry's Superman," Johnny nodded.

Darry overheard the two younger kids and couldn't help smiling proudly.

The game came to an abrupt stop when the abused bed creaked and then collapsed with a loud crack. Steve and Sodapop tumbled off, Soda slamming his face into the floor.

There was the sound of running footsteps from outside and then the door opened with a bang. Mrs. Curtis stood in the doorway and stared from the broken bed to the boys. Steve quickly got up from the floor. Sodapop sat rubbing his forehead, tears appearing in the corner of his eyes. Mrs. Curtis was about to scold them but when seeing her son on the brink of tears, she went over to pull him up. "Look what you did now," she said in a half—strict tone and checked his forehead where a large bump was forming.

"It was the bed," said Sodapop, collecting himself. "It ain't our fault it couldn't carry two little boys."

"I'm sure you boys weren't just sitting quietly on it," she sighed and let Soda go before examining the bed. It looked like it could be fixed but she hated to put her husband to work again the minute he came home from returning the car. "Why don't you boys go outside and play before you break anything else?"

They all trudged into the backyard but it was getting cold and also drawing near dinnertime, so Dallas, Steve, and Keith said goodbye and headed on home.

Johnny rubbed his arms and looked in the direction of his house there was a light burning so his parents were home. He wondered for a moment if they were worried about him or at least wondered where he was. He hadn't been home for almost a week so they should have noticed that he wasn't there. He wished they missed him and that they would worry, but deep down he knew they didn't.

The boys went inside a bit later and headed directly for Darry's room. Mrs. Curtis stood in the kitchen fixing dinner and she called after them not to break Darry's bed as well. A moment later, Mr. Curtis came through the front door and slumped down on a chair at the dinner table.

Mrs. Curtis dried her hands in her apron. "Were there any trouble?"

"I handled it. But Mr. Merrill was very interested in knowing where I had gotten his car from. I just told him that it stood parked close to my home and I recognized it as his. I didn't see a point in telling him that Dallas stole it."

"Of course not, dear. I was counting on you fixing things." She sighed and slumped down on a chair. "God... Those boys drive me mad sometimes. At least Keith, Steve, and Dallas went home."

He looked over at her and smiled. "Well compared to most kids in the neighborhood this little gang of boys are pretty decent. This is about the worst thing they've done. So far, at least."

"I know. And I love them all but they're such a handful sometimes. Steve and Sodapop just broke Soda's bed and Soda got a huge bump on his forehead."

Mr. Curtis sighed and got up from his seat. "I'll go take a look at the bed."

Sodapop stuck his head out from Darry's room just as Mr. Curtis walked by. "Hey Dad, whatcha doing?"

Mr. Curtis stopped and looked at his son for a moment. "I'm gonna go fix the bed that you and Steve broke." He ruffled Soda's blond locks. "Now you go do your homework like a good boy."

Soda was about to protest but then suddenly felt bad for breaking the bed. What if it couldn't be fixed and they had to spend money on a new one? So he nodded and decided to give his homework a serious try for once. "Dad..." he said, lingering a bit to watch Mr. Curtis start examining the bed. "I'm sorry. Do you think it can be fixed?"

Mr. Curtis flipped the bed over and was pleased to see that it was only a few boards in the bottom of the bed that needed replacing. "Yeah. But I need some new boards," he smiled. "I can get those at work but you might have to sleep in the living room with Johnny or get cramped up in Pony's bed for the night."

"Okay," smiled Sodapop. "No problem."

 **o0o0o**

They ended up putting a mattress into Soda and Pony's room so Johnny could sleep in there as well. Mrs. Curtis tugged the three boys in and gave them a kiss on the forehead. "Sleep tight and don't talk all night. I don't want a call from your teacher tomorrow telling me you fell asleep in class again."

"We had fun today, huh?" said Soda as soon as Mrs. Curtis left the room. Ponyboy agreed. "I want a car as soon as I get my license," Sodapop said wistfully.

"Can… can I go for a ride, then?" Johnny asked.

"What do you think, silly?" grinned Soda and tickled Johnny. "Of course you can! Don't I always let you do everything?"

Johnny nodded and pulled the covers up under his nose trying to hide from Soda's tickling hands.

"Darry's gonna get his license first," said Ponyboy. "He's 16 in four years. You're gonna have to wait eight years, Soda."

Soda grinned to himself. He sure wasn't that good at math when he was Pony's age. He barely was now.

There was a knock on the door and Mr. Curtis stuck his head in. "Sleeping time," he said, fixing Sodapop with his gaze, knowing well that he was the main culprit.

"We _were_ sleeping."

"I heard you talking, young man."

"I was talking in my sleep."

Mr. Curtis shook his head and sighed. "And are you still talking in your sleep since we are having this conversation?" he pointed out and Johnny couldn't help but giggle.

"No, because you _woke_ me!" retorted Sodapop.

"Oh I'm sorry, young sir," Mr. Curtis said in a polite voice. "Then I shall leave you for now so you can get your beauty sleep. And I mean _sleep!_ "

* * *

 **A/N:** To see Zayhad's illustration to the chapter go to deviantart dot com and look up Zayhad. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it.


	10. What Happened, Officer?

**Chapter 10 – What Happened, Officer?**

Dallas had a smoke with Keith and Steve the next day in the courtyard. "What do you guys say to a bit of pocket money?"

"How?" Steve asked.

Keith looked very interested as he flicked off the ashes from his cigarette.

"Ran into some dude who pays a quarter per hub cap. That's pretty easy money. It'll be easier if we're at least two, though, so one's the lookout while the other does the business."

"Sounds easy enough," grinned Keith. "Sure, count me in on that deal!" He looked at Steve who seemed to be a little hesitant but then he nodded as well.

"Should we let the Curtis boys in on it?" asked Dallas.

"I dunno.,." Steve said. "Mrs. Curtis was pissed yesterday so if we get 'em into more trouble I bet she's gonna have our heads. But we could bring Johnny. He could be a good look-out."

"Yeah..." said Dallas, considering it for a minute. "Johnny's cool. But I dunno if he's got the nerves for it. We can ask him, though. I mean, three are more than enough - it's just so we don't leave the others in the dark."

"I don't know about you, but I wanna stay on Mrs. Curtis' good side," Keith said.

"Well, the guys ain't gonna squeal on us," said Dallas. "So we can tell 'em about it, at least. They don't have to come."

They found Sodapop bent over helping Ponyboy with something while Johnny was watching. "Hey, where's Superman?" asked Dallas.

"I saw him over there talking with a couple of the guys from the football team," said Sodapop, pointing in a specific direction.

"What you guys doing, anyways?" Steve asked and sat down next to Sodapop.

"Just helpin' Pony with his shoelace," said Soda, who was reattaching Pony's broken lace.

"What? Can't tie your own shoe yet, kid?" laughed Dallas.

Pony's face turned red. He hated it when the others hinted at his age.

Steve snickered as well. "Would be good if they invented shoes that didn't need tying for boys to wear, huh, Ponyboy?"

"Leave my brother alone," said Sodapop. "He can do more than most of you guys. "And what kind of brother am I not to give him a hand? It's this damn lace. Those shoes are worn out. It's my old ones."

Steve wiped the smirk off his face and just mumbled a few words under his breath before turning to Soda again. "Dal wants to go steal hub cabs after school. We would ask y'all to come but your mom is probably gonna have our heads if we do."

"Well… she wouldn't have to know," said Sodapop and took a quick look around to see if Darry was anywhere nearby. He was a little tempted to join them. Not because he was keen on stealing anything, but it was bound to be exciting.

Ponyboy looked nervously up at Sodapop, feeling a knot form in his stomach. Stealing was wrong. It didn't bother him so much that the other boys were doing it, but Soda was his hero, and their parents would be very upset if they found out Soda had done something like that.

The other boys' faces lit up in a grin as Soda indirectly told them that he would join in on the fun.

"Yeah? You in?" Steve said excitedly.

"Alright, said Sodapop. But we better not tell Darry, or he's gonna stop me." He didn't have to ask Ponyboy or Johnny to keep their mouths shut because he knew neither would ever rat him out. Darry wouldn't either, but he would prevent Soda from going.

"So after classes we meet up outside school," Steve said. "So don't get any detentions today, will ya?" He looked at Soda and then at Dally and Keith.

 **o0o0o**

Luckily Darry had football practice after school so they wouldn't have to deal with him, and they quickly walked Pony and Johnny home before taking off.

"Hello, boys," said Mrs. Curtis, smiling from behind a pile of laundry. "Where's Sodapop?"

Johnny looked at Ponyboy, not sure what to say or do.

"He um... he went with Steve and the others," said Ponyboy. "He'll be home later. Me and Johnny just went home to do some homework."

An hour later a police car pulled up next to the Curtis house. An officer stepped out of the car, opened the back door and ordered an ashamed looking Sodapop out.

Mrs. Curtis came out of the house with Ponyboy and Johnny at her heels. She placed her hands on her hips and sent Sodapop a look that made the young boy drop his head in shame.

"What happened, officer?"

"Your son was picked up with a couple of other kids stealing hubcaps," said the officer gruffly. "Two of them got away, but we caught this one and another one I just drove home."

Mrs. Curtis sent Sodapop another look and then placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you officer for taking my son home. Will there be a fine or is it enough that I promise that he will _never_ do anything like this again?

"If you think you can promise anything on behalf of that..." said the officer, eying Sodapop with distaste. "Well, you're getting off with a warning this time."

Mrs. Curtis pushed Sodapop towards the house, the others followed without a word. Inside she turned to him. "What were you thinking? Haven't we taught you anything about right and wrong? I am so disappointed in you!" She sounded so angry that Pony and Johnny quickly left the room, afraid to get caught in the crossfire.

Sodapop looked down at his shoes. He actually felt really ashamed, and he suddenly couldn't see why he had thought it would be a good idea. "I'm sorry, Mom..."

"Sorry doesn't cover it, young man," she said in a sharp voice. "I have told you many times that stealing is wrong. What suddenly made you think this was a good idea?"

Sodapop shrugged. "It sounded fun. The others were going and I wanted to try it."

"And if the others were jumping off a bridge would you do it too?"

Sodapop shook his head, still staring at his shoes.

"I don't know what to say, Sodapop," she sighed. "I don't even know if it's such a good idea to hang around with Dallas and the others if this is what comes of it."

Soda's head snapped up. "No, that's not a problem! It wasn't because I thought stealing was cool. It just sounded exciting, but I won't do it no more. I promise! I don't wanna make you upset. I forgot to think of that."

Mrs. Curtis tilted her head. She couldn't get herself to forbid her son not to see his friends anymore. She decided that maybe she should just have a talk with them. "Well... you're grounded for a month. That means no horse riding either and you have to ask permission to go anywhere after school and you bring Darry. Do I make myself clear?"

Soda's mouth fell open. A month of boredom? No horses? But he didn't say anything, just dropped his head and slowly walked through the house to his room.

A little later Pony, Johnny, and Darry (who had just come home and been updated) slowly walked into the room and sat down. Darry put a hand on his brother's shoulder and studied him for a moment. "You okay?" he asked and gave his shoulder a soft shake.

Sodapop shrugged. "I'm grounded for a month."

"Come on... you know mom ain't gonna keep the end of that deal. Maybe if you behave for two weeks or so she'll let you go riding. And she did say you could do stuff after school if I went with you. I don't mind going to the stables either."

Soda's face turned into a grin. "Really? And you won't tell her we went there?"

"I meant I won't mind taking you there _if she allows it_. I think going against her right now would be a dumb move, but maybe we can ask her in few weeks.

"Oh... right." Soda suddenly noticed how sad Ponyboy looked and he felt another sting of guilt. He knew he was Pony's hero and now he had done something really bad. He hoped Ponyboy wouldn't try to copy him.

 **o0o0o**

Mrs. Curtis met her husband in the door as she had done quite often lately. "What's the matter this time?" he sighed, noticing that her face looked grimmer than usual.

"Your son was just picked up by the police for stealing hubcaps." She didn't have to tell him which son.

Mr. Curtis ran his fingers through his short hair and sighed. "Where is he now? Is he okay?" Mr. Curtis knew that the cops were extra hard on the kids from this side of town so he bet they had not been pleasant with Soda.

"He's in his room cleaning like I told him. I don't think they scared him too much, but he feels bad about making me upset. I grounded him for a month. You might wanna have a talk with him anyway. Just so he knows we're both disappointed in him."

Mr. Curtis nodded and took off his jacket before heading to the boys' room. He knocked on the door and went inside.

"Hi, Dad," said Sodapop. He was going to get another talking to, that was obvious. His father was less strict, though, so he wasn't too worried.

Mr. Curtis asked the others to leave the room and he sat down on the bed, motioning for Soda to join him. "So... your mom tells me you been stealing hubcaps? Tell me: What made you think that was a good idea?"

Soda had always been good at charming his way out of things. It was difficult for people to be mad at him. So he used that now, sending his father big puppy dog eyes. "I just wanted to try. The others were going and I thought it sounded fun."

"But you have to understand that people work hard to afford cars and what goes with them, so you can't just go around stealing things because it sounds like fun."

"Yes, Dad. I didn't think of that. I'm only eight."

"I have told you before how expensive things are and we struggle with money as well. I would get very mad if someone stole something of mine. Understand?"

Sodapop nodded.

Mr. Curtis ruffled his hair and smiled. "Try to use your head a bit. I know you can 'cause you ain't dumb. If you're in doubt about whether or not do something, then don't do it. It's as easy as that.

 **o0o0o**

The phone rang four times until it was picked up. "Hello?" sounded Mrs. Randle's voice at the other end. She sounded a bit tired.

"Hello, Mrs. Randle. It's Sodapop. Can I talk to Steve, please?"

There was silence for a moment at the other end. Then Steve's slightly shaking voice sounded, "H-hello?"

"Hi," said Soda. "You okay?"

"Yeah… I'm cool... don't worry about it. How about you?"

"What happened? Did he beat you?"

Steve was quiet for a moment. "Yeah. But it's no big deal. I… I ain't bothered by him."

"I'm sorry," said Sodapop. "I got grounded for a month. Guess I'm lucky I didn't get beaten, huh?"

"Yeah. Your parents love you," Steve mumbled. "Guess you can't have visitors, then?"

"Guess it's best not tonight. But I think it'll be fine tomorrow maybe. If we stay here." Soda was quiet for a second. "Your mom loves you."

"Yeah, but she ain't doing a real good job protecting me when he goes crazy," Steve mumbled.

"Did ya hear from Dally or Keith?" asked Soda.

"Keith called an hour ago but my dad was disciplining me then, so I only heard from my mom that he called. They're the lucky ones for getting away, but I'm telling ya... I ain't doing this again. I might as well have stolen the whole car and not just the hubcaps for all the trouble I got."

"Yeah... It sounds a lot more fun when Keith and Dally talk about steeling. Maybe it's more fun when you don't get caught."

"Well, we'll have to ask 'em about that tomorrow, seeing they were the ones that got away."

 **o0o0o**

Ponyboy was sitting with Johnny out on the porch after dinner. Neither had spoken much since the police came home with Sodapop.

"Soda shouldn't have gone with them," Ponyboy said.

Johnny shook his head. He felt bad about not trying to stop them. Now Sodapop was grounded and God knew how Steve was. They all knew his dad wasn't a very nice person. "You... you think your mom will stay mad?"

"No, she never stays mad for long. But Soda made her sad. That's the worst part."

"Sad?" Johnny gulped. He didn't think he had seen Mrs. Curtis being sad this way before. Usually she would cry when she was sad, like the time Soda fell down and broke his arm, but this time she had yelled. Something she rarely did.

"Sometimes people yell at those who made them sad," explained Ponyboy. "She's sad because Soda did something really bad. He often does things that makes her kinda mad, but this is different. I can tell she's very upset."

Johnny bit his lip nervously and thought about it for a minute. "But Soda said he was sorry... you think they'll be okay?"

"I guess. I think she knows Soda didn't mean no harm."

"I hope he don't do it again, so she won't be upset no more," Johnny mumbled.

 **o0o0o**

A little later when Johnny had gone home Ponyboy was alone in the kitchen with his mother. He was still upset about what had happened. "Mom..." he started. "Why were you so upset with Soda?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Because Soda did something really bad and that made me sad because I didn't think he would do such a bad thing."

"But... Soda does things he ain't supposed to all the time. Why are you more upset now?"

"Because he committed a crime and I don't want my sons to be criminals."

Ponyboy knew stealing was wrong, of course, but so was breaking things in the home and sneaking out when you weren't supposed to. What made this so different? "Is the other bad things Soda does not crimes?"

"No, honey, because that's mostly in our own house and not someone else's property. Understand?"

"He... he does bad things on the playground too. Like climbing on top of the swing set. And you get mad then too. Is that a crime, then?"

"No, honey," she smiled. "I get mad then because I'm scared that he'll get hurt."

"But I don't understand. What's a crime, then? Is it because there was police?"

"Yes, the police deals with crimes. There are certain rules in the world that everybody has to follow and stealing is against the rules. Just like a lot of other things you're too young to understand yet. You know some of them. If Dad drives too fast? That's against the rules as well. But it isn't as bad as stealing. Stealing is a very bad crime."

"Dally and Keith steal all the time and do other things that make the police catch them. But you still like them. Do you still like Soda?"

"Of course I still like Soda," she smiled. "Nothing will ever make me not love him. I love the others too but that doesn't mean I like everything they do."

"I think Soda's a good person. I think he's the best person in the world," said Ponyboy firmly.

She smiled and rested her chin on her palm. "You think I was too hard on him?"

"I don't know," said Ponyboy. "He shouldn't make you so sad. But I think he's very sorry. I just think maybe he didn't know it was a crime…"

"He knew it was a crime. I just think he forgot to use his head."

Ponyboy thought hard for a minute and then said. "Dally don't care it's illegal or that it's hurting other people. He just keeps stealing. And breaking other people's things. And he ain't sorry like Soda. Why ain't he sorry?"

Mrs. Curtis sighed as she thought about Dallas and his upbringing. "I think he does it because he doesn't get enough attention at home from his parents, honey. Dallas has it very rough at home and he doesn't know how else to act."

Ponyboy thought about that for a minute. "But Johnny has it very rough at home too and he doesn't do crimes."

"That's because Johnny is a much more fragile boy. It can go two ways when kids are treated badly - either they get angry and act out like Dallas or they become shy and careful like Johnny. Also, we knew Johnny since he was three so he has known good people too. Dally hasn't for most of his life."

"Yeah, okay. But... Keith steals a lot too. And his mom is nice to him."

"I just think he's bored," Mrs. Curtis sighed, not quite having an explanation for Keith's behavior. She got up from her seat and went over to get a glass of water.

" _I'm_ not gonna to do them things," said Ponyboy firmly. "I don't want to be a criminal and make you sad. And I don't think Soda will again."

"I'm glad to hear that, honey," she smiled.

 **o0o0o**

Mr. Curtis got up from his spot on the couch and went to the door when he heard a knock. He was surprised to see the small boy who had just left thirty minutes ago. "But Johnny, what are you doing back here so soon? I thought you were going home?"

Johnny pulled nervously at the hem of his shirt. "I'm sorry to bother you, but... my mom got real mad at me. I think she hates me…" He twisted his foot and bit his lip. "I would have gone to the lot to sleep but it's raining..."

"Come in, Johnny," said Mr. Curtis and beckoned Johnny inside, closing the door behind him. "Of course you can sleep here. You know how Maggie gets upset when you sleep in the lot."

Johnny smiled shyly. "Thank you, Mr. Curtis."

"We always like to have you staying over, Johnny. You're an easy guest. No trouble at all." He sat down on the couch, motioning for Johnny to sit down as well. "Johnny... The reason your mom gets mad at you ain't that she hates you. It's because when she's in a bad mood or feels sick because she's been drinking, she likes to take it out on somebody else, and you're the easiest target. You're so young you can't defend yourself."

Johnny looked down at his hands and gulped. He was quiet for a minute before he finally said, "I just want her to like me. I always behave and stay out of trouble. I wish she would stop drinking so she wouldn't feel bad and have to take it out on me."

"People who drink everyday can't stop so easily and it's impossible for others to make them stop. They have to really want to. Alcohol is a bad, bad thing. It ruins many families."

"I think they wish I ain't been born… That's why they hate me so much," Johnny mumbled and started to fumble with his shirt again.

Mr. Curtis sighed. "Your parents don't hate you. They just don't care about anybody, not even themselves. Some people are like that. It got nothing to do with you. They maybe think things would be easier if they didn't have a kid, but that ain't true at all. They wouldn't be one bit happier."

"JOHNNYYY!" sounded a scream and the next second something struck the couch with great force.

Johnny's heart jumped into his throat when the flying thing almost knocked him over. "S-Soda," he stuttered.

Sodapop, who, when sneaking out of his room after having been sent there, had just discovered that Johnny had come back and grinned widely and hugged the smaller boy tightly. Being rather startled for a few seconds, Johnny finally relaxed into the embrace.

"Well," Mr. Curtis said and sent Sodapop a look. "Someone broke out." He got to his feet. "I guess since you're up we can make a bed for Johnny in your room instead of just the couch."

Johnny smiled. He really liked sleeping in Soda and Pony's room. He didn't feel so alone then.

Sodapop nodded eagerly. It wasn't quite so bad being grounded when you had friends staying over. "Pony'll be happy that you're here," he said. "And I'll tell y'all a scary story if you want."

"No scary story, Soda," said Mr. Curtis who had overheard his son. "They won't be able to sleep, then."

"But they love it..."

"No, Soda," Mr. Curtis said again. "You can tell a story, but no scary ones. We ain't staying up all night to calm Pony down."

Sodapop sighed dramatically but decided to not push his luck. He had just gotten in big trouble not many hours ago and he knew that his parents were letting him off a lot easier than he probably deserved. Just thinking about Steve's punishment made his own look ridiculous.

Mrs. Curtis did not tug Soda in or give him a kiss like she usually did. She did it to Ponyboy and Johnny, but just said "Goodnight" to Sodapop. It stung a little, but Soda guessed he couldn't blame her. He had really upset her, he knew that. He swore to never steal anything else again. No matter what the others did.

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 **A/N:** To see Zayhad's illustration to the chapter go to deviantart dot com and look up Zayhad. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it.


	11. We're All Friends here

**A/N: So this is the last chap. We hope you've enjoyed this little piece. It's always a little sad finishing a fic, and we've had so much fun writing this one. Thank you all for supporting and reviewing along the way :)**

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 **Chapter 11 – We're All Friends here**

A few days had passed and Mrs. Curtis had succumbed to Soda's puppy dog eyes and had let him off easy. He was allowed to go outside after school and play with his friends as long as Darry went with him. She had the feeling that Soda and the others would not try any funny business if Darry was there to keep an eye on them.

Steve was still a bit moody. "C'mon, man," said Dallas. "Don't be such a cry baby. So, you get caught once in a while, so what?"

"I ain't moping over getting caught. I'm moping over the fact that my old man has to make such a damn big deal over it. Not like anyone got hurt or nothin'..." Steve said and stuck his hands into his pockets.

"So what? I take a beating every time my old man gets pissed over something. No matter if it's my fault or not. Ain't that big a deal. You don't see me sulking around, do ya? You don't see Johnny doin' it either, and your dad's punches like a girl compared to his."

Steve just mumbled a few curse words and kicked a small rock so it skipped across the road and hit the tire of a truck that stood parked next to the curb.

But Sodapop got mad when Dallas talked to Steve like that. "You know being a criminal don't make you tuff, Dal," he said, sticking out his chin.

"Whatcha say?" said Dallas in a dangerous tone. The others went dead quiet.

"You heard me," said Soda, glaring back at Dallas. "You ain't that tuff. Have some respect for my friend, okay?"

The punch came so fast that Soda didn't get a chance to try to dodge it.

Darry was on Dally in an instant, shoving him hard against a wall. "Keep your hands off my brother, Dal," he hissed. "We're all friends here so no point in fighting amongst ourselves!"

Dallas scowled at Darry, clenching his fists at his sides. They had all felt Dally's anger at least once (except Johnny), and Soda the most times since he often didn't know when to keep his mouth shut. But even Dallas had respect for Darry and he wouldn't have a go at him unless he was blind with rage. "Fuck you," he settled with mumbling. "If your brother can't watch his mouth he's gonna get it. Simple as that..."

"Well, maybe you should try and watch your mouth too, Winston," Darry muttered and examined his brother's face. Luckily the punch had not done much damage.

"So where to now?" Keith grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

"How 'bout going down to the DX and see if there's still that old shopping cart by the container?" suggested Sodapop, having already forgotten about the punch. "We can ride it down Richmond Hill."

"Sounds like a plan," grinned Keith, and the others agreed as well. Even Steve seemed to lighten up by the suggestion.

Ponyboy exchanged looks with Johnny. Riding down a steep street in a shopping cart sounded dangerous, and neither were keen on doing it. Ponyboy, for one, wasn't going to protest and if Darry would let him, he would ride too. He didn't want to look like a coward in front of the big boys. Johnny looked very nervous as they walked down the street towards the DX. He wasn't going to protest either but he wasn't going to suggest going first, that was for sure.

"We can fit in two at a time. Who wants to go with me?" said Dallas, who seemed to have forgotten all about the bad atmosphere from before.

They all looked around at each other until Keith spoke. "Why don't you ride with Johnny? Then I'll ride with Sodapop and Steve, and Darry will probably wanna ride with Ponyboy, unless he ain't allowed."

"We can't fit in three," said Sodapop to Keith. "Not with how fat you are."

"I ain't fat!" Keith replied. "I'm just big boned. My mom says so, and besides I meant that I would stand on the back of it and youtwo ride in the cart."

Sodapop laughed and climbed in before anyone else had the chance. Dallas, who had decided to go first no matter Keith's plan, quickly squeezed himself in behind Sodapop and turned his head to Keith. "Well, go on and drive us, then!"

"Oh so now I ain't gonna ride with ya?" Steve complained. "I'm stuck with Johnny, then."

"Stuck with Johnny?" said Dallas, turning an angry glare at Steve. "What the hell kinda attitude is that?" He made to get up from the cart to tell Steve a thing or two.

Steve really was just mad about not getting to ride with Soda. "I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to go first, but if you wanna, that's fine…"

Johnny wasn't sure how to feel – hurt by what Steve said or glad that Dally had defended him.

Ponyboy was staring down Richmond Hill, frozen with fear. It looked like a mountain. It would be like going down the world's largest roller coaster with no brakes. Ashamed to admit it, he hoped Darry wouldn't allow him to go. It would be a little embarrassing, but not as much as admitting that he didn't dare.

"Hmm," Darry started as he looked at the hill and then at Sodapop and the others in the cart. "Maybe we should do something else then test how well this cart breaks down a steep hill." He saw how his youngest brother was shaking and Johnny's expression was not to be joked with either. "Maybe go play some football instead."

But Sodapop was not going to play football. He was going downhill. "C'mon, Keith," he said, urging him on before Darry got a chance to make up his mind. Keith jumped on and before Darry could protest, he kicked off and the cart rolled downhill, first slowly but quickly gaining speed.

"WUHU!" whooped Soda and Dally as the cart picked up momentum to a furious speed. They reached the crossroad and, with no way of breaking or turning, the cart roared across, to the sound of a horn and screeching brakes.

Johnny clapped his hands over his eyes, afraid to watch but only heard Soda's continuing whooping so he dared look again and was happy to see that the cart had made it through safely.

"Man, I was supposed to be in that cart," sulked Steve and Darry turned to Ponyboy. "I made up my mind. You ain't going into that cart."

They were nearing the bottom of the hill and going faster than ever. Sodapop suddenly realized that they had no way of stopping. The street was ending in a T-junction and across was a small park.

"The path, Keith!" yelled Dallas. "AIM FOR THE PATH!"

Keith tried to steer for the path but the cart started to sway and tilted over so the three boys rolled onto the ground. Luckily for them the cart had hit the grass so the ground was at least soft.

"Ouch!" complained Soda as he sat up, rubbing a scraped cheek and inspecting a hole in his pants by the knee.

"Thanks for the soft landing, Curtis," grinned Dallas and got up.

Keith sat up and tried to gather himself. The landing, however, had not managed to wipe the smirk off his face. "Wow that sure was fun!"

Darry and the others arrived shortly after and Darry pulled his brother to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"Fine!" grinned Soda. "I wanna try again. Hey, Steve, wanna have a go?"

"Oh no you don't, little buddy," Darry said firmly. "You guys almost got hit by them cars over there. Better we take the cart to a less busy street if you wanna go again."

Steve shot out his bottom lip, looking really disappointed. Darry had always been the smart and responsible one of the seven boys so it was only natural for him to suggest they be more careful. Steve was just not in the mood to be careful. He wanted to go down the same hill.

"Aw, Darry," whined Sodapop. "This is the steepest hill in the neighborhood!" He knew, however, that if his brother had set his mind, there was nothing for it. He was their unofficial leader and they usually listened to him. Well, not so much Dally. He mostly listened to Dally.

"And that's the problem with it," Darry said firmly. "I ain't scooping you off the front of a car or the asphalt."

Johnny and Pony watched nervously, hoping the other boys would listen to Darry.

"Well, where else do you suggest then, Superman?" asked Dally, who wasn't that annoyed, since he had already had his go down the steep hill.

"I dunno. By the old factory? There's a hill there as well and we won't be bothered by cars." The boys looked a little sceptic but Darry just shrugged. "It's that or nothing."

Sodapop sighed. "Well, alright then. Let's go!"

They let Johnny and Ponyboy sit in the cart as they pushed it to the other place, taking turns pushing, running as fast as they could. Darry, of course took twice as long hauls as the rest.

They reached the old factory after what seemed like ages and Darry wiped off sweat from his forehead. They looked down the hill, which wasn't very steep but Darry thought it would do. Then Ponyboy would be able to have a go as well so Darry stepped up behind the cart with Johnny and Pony still in it and let it roll down the road, putting his foot on the wheel from time to time so it didn't go too fast.

It was a little scary at first but then Ponyboy started enjoying the ride. He got eye contact with Johnny, who sent him a rare grin.

They reached the bottom and Darry sent both of them a grin, making sure they had both enjoyed the ride.

"MY TURN!" Steve yelled from the top of the hill.

"We better get up there," Darry grinned and started to push the cart back up.

Sodapop jumped in behind Steve, and Keith was quick to take the rear. It wasn't nearly as thrilling as the first ride, but still good.

As they reached the bottom, a man came running out of a house yelling angrily at them. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF JESUS ARE YOU DOING?"

"Taking a ride," explained Sodapop.

"Uh oh," Darry said. He had thought no one would be around so he quickly yelled at Soda and the others to make a run for it.

Steve jumped out of the cart as it got to a halt, quickly followed by Soda and Keith. Soda and Darry fell back so Johnny and Ponyboy wouldn't fall behind. Luckily the man didn't follow for long, he just let out a string of curses like "NO GOOD HOODS," and "DEVILS!"

"Man that sure was an angry old fart, huh?" Steve grinned at Sodapop who was walking beside him.

"He loved it. Dudes like that got nothing better to do than hating kids and yelling at them," laughed Sodapop.

They passed a small drugstore and Dallas stopped. "Need some stuff," he explained and disappeared inside. The others waited outside for him and when he came back out, none of them said anything, not even Darry. He had gotten pretty used to the others snatching up a few things once in a while.

"So," Keith said as he accepted a smoke from Dally. "Where to now?"

"The lot?" Steve suggested, taking a cigarette as well.

Johnny's eyes widened as Dally handed him a cigarette, but when Dally tried to give Soda one as well, Darry snatched it from him. "He's too young," he mumbled and sent Dally a look of disapproval. Dally just shrugged and lit his smoke before he swung an arm around Johnny.

Darry bent his knees a little and motioned for Pony to jump onto his back. He didn't have to tell him twice. Steve and Soda punched each other in fun and laughed about the ride in the cart as they all headed for the empty lot. They were like brothers and they always would be. The best of friends that no matter what would always have each other's backs and make each other feel like they belonged somewhere.

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 **A/N:** To see Zayhad's illustration to the chapter go to deviantart dot com and look up Zayhad. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it.


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